RiveR StyX

The Orange County Serial Killer - A Commentary

2012-01-15T10:22:00.001-08:00

Another day another serial killer apprehended. It was amateur night, you could tell. He went right down the same path other juvenile wannabe serial killers go down. I've been reading serial killer books and watching documentaries for 20 years now, I could've profiled this guy better than any suit-dummy handling bodily fluids with a 4-year degree could have..Even got the tattoos to show for it, so nothing shocks me anymore.

But what a waste of time this guy turned out to be. No sense of individualism, and as usual, he was some immigrant we can't even pronounce the name of or say what race he is picking off easy targets. What happened to the days when serial killers were dedicated to their work? Bundy, Gein, Gacy, and Berkowitz..All genuinely loved what they did and put a lot of pride into their work.

And he had to go do something so 1800's as picking off a couple of drifters and society's less desirable..Seriously kid, you are not original in your MO. Jack the Ripper did it 200 years ago and he did it with style, the guy was a fuckin surgeon when he was fileting those hookers in the dead of night. It barely worked then for him, did you Really think you were going to get away with it?

You want to know how and why you got caught? Because like most kids who fancy themselves a tough-guy, you got real sloppy real fast. You were in too much of a hurry. I knew you were going to try for another victim and that would be your downfall, it happens that way like you wouldn't believe.

If you had bothered to read any criminology book or watched a movie about the serial killers who've been caught, you would have learned that they get caught not because of clever police work, but because they slipped up. Case in point: The police and the feds are fucking stupid when it comes to catching a serial killer..There's no exact science in it, but they pretend there is. They've been known to bring in "Profilers" and "Psychics" who tell them only what they want to hear. They're never right, either. They profiled Ted Kaczynski as being the complete opposite of who he really turned out to be.

Here's how and why he got caught, he violated the rules for being a serial killer who's goal is to postpone capture for as long as possible:

1. Always keep on the move. Don't stay in one place for too long. The entire county was on red-alert, the police and the FBI were up everyone's ass about this. Go to another county or even another state. Yes this costs MONEY. Lots and lots of it, which is why the lazy get caught! Killing random people is not a hobby, it's very expensive!

2. Change your MO! This Ocampo guy was very specific in picking off defenseless drifters because he thought it was easy..It didn't work in his favor because now the police had a profile - car, dress, height, weight. It was only a matter of time until he got sloppy and the 'voices told him' he was immortal. And come on, homeless people was the best this guy could think of?? Where's somebody with a sense of imagination to come along and do the deed?! Why not play Boondock Saints and go after criminals instead? Jesus titty-fucking, doesn't anybody watch good movies anymore? Manson at least force-fed a couple of hippies LSD and made them get their hands dirty instead, there are reasons some of them are famous but most of them are poor immigrants from countries we'd rather not visit.

3. Don't ever write taunting letters. This is how Albert Fish and Ted Kacynski were both caught after being at large for a very long time. Yes, I know the Zodiac was able to do this and still got away with it, but he kept changing his MO, his location, and was sure to cover his tracks. You're not the Zodiac, crime technology is better now and its set up to catch future wannabes..And no, it wasn't Arthur Leigh Allen, don't believe everything you see. And Dennis Rader the BTK killer? Yep, he was really good and got away with it for 10 years but then he came back after a long break and got egotistical..Wrote letters to the newspapers without considering the possibility of apprehension and that's what bought him a ticket to jail.

Now, I know your defense is "Oh I was in Iraq, now I hear voices and see things". Ain't gonna work, the war has more supporters in a position of authority then detractors and not every veteran came home schiz'd out of their mind. The insanity defense rarely works anymore (Less than 1%) and he showed complete premeditation. The guy knew what he was doing, he took breaks and he even hinted to people that he was the one doing it. I know California is a completely naive liberal state full of pot smoking hippies and welfare dependents where only the criminals have rights, but the cops are far less tolerant then we would have them believe. Nobody who means a damn is going to come to this guys defense. Remember that Jared guy from Arizona? He's playing the same card and his life has ultimately turned out worse then just pleading guilty. The inevitable is only being dragged through the mud, and he'll probably fry like a pig for trying to insult everyone's intelligence. They're forcefully medicating him so he stands fit for trial, I know I wouldn't want to be held against a wall and shot in the ass with a needle by a drug that will probably make ya worse.

One thing is for certain: We won't be seeing his entry on a t-shirt or in the museum of death. Complete loser with nothing to live for and no sense of imagination, nothing more. Seriously, what a bozo.

Final words from George Carlin: "Why is it that the evil voices in people's heads always tell them to go out and kill someone? How come they never say, 'Go take a shit on the salad bar at Wendy's'"

Gamestop is a complete scam, end of story

2012-01-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

What a bunch of losers! When it comes to selling used games back, they really just shit all over everybody. Even the grass on craigslist is greener then what this company is doing.

They wanted to offer me something like $1 a piece, cash trade-in, for 4 certain games which sold for a grand total $60 on ebay before fees/shipping, this was even after undercutting the other dealers by their lowest price. I'm serious too, I was offered no more than $2 cash for pokemon battle revolution when the next lowest price on ebay was $30 used. This entire company and their racket should be shut down, they're worse than pawn shops.

Originally I was selling ~10 games and was offered $45 store credit or $16 cash..How they came to that difference is beyond me. So I agreed to sell the unsellable games to them for $9 and kept the good ones for flea-bay.

And to top it off, the cashier was talking to me like I was an idiot..When he went to give me change, he kept asking repeatedly for 20 cents so he could give me another dollar. Then went on at least four times while I was digging in my wallet, I don't know what his deal was and I don't care.

The videogame industry is in the right to call this company complete parasites because that's all they are.

Trolling A Dating Site

2011-12-14T19:01:00.001-08:00

All you really need is a copy of ms paint and twenty seconds to find some ridiculous profiles - Not hard, there's like a gazillion of them out there. That's why they're single.

It's Official: Two Years Free From Smoking!!

2011-12-03T10:08:00.001-08:00

So how did I do it?

Well, let me start from the beginning. Two years ago around this time, I was broke and sick and wanted to give myself something for Christmas that I knew I couldn't buy and couldn't be given to me. So I decided, after some research, to take the Cold Turkey way out after 10 years of smoking. I smoked over a pack a day and it was literally ending my life one cigarette at a time. From sun up with the first cup of coffee to the 40oz of malt liquor at night, it was *Always* on my mind. I was so desperate sometimes, I would scrap up old butts and re-roll a new one while getting my hands stained from the nicotine. Not fun.

Looking back on it, let me tell you: If there ever is a hell, I would compare it to a neverending nicotine detox. I knew going into it that there would be a significant amount of fear and desperation attached to it, being that smoking actually re-shapes the brain's chemistry into thinking it needs it to actually survive. You take those chemicals away and you can bet your ass your mind will become your worst enemy for what feels like forever.

If you can handle this method after smoking for as long as I did or longer, then you will have nerves of steel and can do anything you want after it's done and over with. Not going to lie to you, it sucks..It builds and builds in psychotic withdrawals until the 3rd day when it peaks, then drops after that. You will feel like you're getting a fever one second then chills the next. You will shake and sweat and pray for just one more cigarette. And you will be desperate, feel powerless, and beg for it to be over before it's even really started.

These tips will help you quit, but they are far from a sure-fire way to stop:

1. They will elevate your stress levels to a point you've never experienced before. Nicotine withdrawals are worse then kicking heroin because it lasts so long and starts quicker (Heroin takes a few days to start, Nicotine can happen after several hours). My suggestion? Find someplace very very quiet without a phone or a computer or any noise. TV is probably ok, you need to distract yourself without making your stress worse. I kept my mind sidetracked with a lot of movies (For some reason, "Children Of The Corn" was awful, I dont see how it ever got so popular!). If you work, pick a FRIDAY after work so you have 3 days to get through it without it interfering. If you need to, stay in a hotel and pay for 3 days in advance..Just Stay Away From Stress. This is the #1 reason people fall back into it during this time, I can not stress this enough.

2. Drink fruit juice (Without HFCS on the ingredients list!!!). For some reason CRANBERRY JUICE will help the nicotine break from your body's cells a little bit quicker. I'd buy about 5 gallons if I were you, plus another 5 gallons of spring water and drink all of it over the course of 3 days. You're probably asking about food? For the first day or so, you probably wont have much of an appetite. I was able to choke down some chicken soup. At the time, I was taking medications and threw them up instantly..So, anticipate this very possible reality. Just don't freak out about not being able to eat, it will come back before you know it.

3. Do your research for at least 2 weeks for what to expect and tell everyone that you talk to your plans so they know ahead of time and aren't surprised to learn about it.

4. Watch This Movie.

5. It will get worse and worse and you'll even be convinced that you're coming down with a flu or otherwise. Don't be fooled, it's simply your mind going into panic mode but it will level out after the 3rd day peak. I had some really fucked-up symptoms - the weirdest one was feeling like I had to cry like you would any uncontrollable sneeze. Didn't have a reason, wasn't depressed except for the nature of how I was feeling. Just started crying. It came a handful of times then went away within a minute or two, I'll never forget the feeling though.

6. Remember that the tobacco industry has spent a gazillion dollars to keep you addicted no matter what the cost. They add a lot of chemicals, but nicotine is their trump card because it's the most addictive substance on the planet. Do not trust a goddamn thing they say.

7. A piece of advice by Winston Churchill: "If you're going through hell, keep going."

8. Some good news: The Cold Turkey Method has the LOWEST rate of restarting smoking again out of all of them. The odds are on your side if you make it, cool huh?

9. The gums, the patches didn't work for you at the end of the day? Yeah, they're mostly a marketing gimmick..The tobacco industry thought that one through and planned for it. They don't work for one simple reason: As long as you have any amount of nicotine in your body, you will remain addicted. The clock only starts after you stop feeding it into your body, and the patches/gums kinda string you along and tempt you slowly into restarting. I tried the gum and thought it would work. Stayed on it for a month or so and ended up right back where I was before, plus it also wasted quite a bit of money and filled me with a false sense of security.

10. Some even better news? This method wont cost you a dime and think of the money saved by quitting! $6 a day and counting in tax just to feed the government while sponsoring their "War On Drugs", pretty senseless huh?

Good luck to you, It's a very scary method to take but it will not kill you or cause any sort of permanent brain damage. It is simply your brain reshaping itself to what it's supposed to be. Remember that you are a DRUG ADDICT and this is the most addictive chemical on the planet. Each year over a million people will die because they can not do what you are attempting. That's easily a holocaust every 5 years, you will have a 50% chance of dying from this substance if you do not quit early enough.

Final Words: A very warm "Thanks!" to my dad for not kicking me out of his house when I came home stinking like cigarettes. We used to live a rather small apartment, the smell is so horrible now that I'm on his side of the fence..Simply can't stand it, my stomach turns at the thought of it.
I know I would have kicked anyone out, you are clearly the better one.

AMTA - Front For Prostitution

2011-11-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) of Evanston, IL is knowingly being used as a cover for prostitutes/porn stars.

Rachael K Bloomfield Of Antioch, CA is also known as Aries Stone/Samantha Stone, porn star with a tramp stamp featuring the star of david. I know there's some kind of jewish tradition that she's breaking there, being that they expressly forbid any tattoos..But, I wasn't looking for a whole lot of sense out of people like her anyway.

Her last listed straight-sex appearance is from 2010 per her IAFD profile, however she's worked as of September of this year. So, it's beyond reasonable doubt that she's doing both. The idea for women like that is to make as much money as possible within the shortest amount of time.

Her license is listed as 0-3 years, but the chances are she's just piggybacking on there for clients. She even does housecalls (NSFW), whodathunkit? I've sent the company an email but have yet to hear back from them. Don't think I ever will, considering the AMTA charges $235, and somebody has to pay their bills..even though they are a "Volunteer/Non-Profit" service. I was nice enough to send our friend Rachael an email several months ago. After that, she changed her profile name and hid out for a while.

According to their site, the AMTA "may review and remove any job posting that, in its sole judgment, violates applicable laws, rules or regulations, is abusive, disruptive, offensive or illegal, or violates the rights of, or harms or threatens the safety of any users of the AMTA site." And then there's their Code Of Ethics which I can assume was written and never checked on.

tl;dr - The AMTA is just a fancy company that takes money and refers hookers.

Yelp deleted a review, so I'll just post it here instead =)

2011-11-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

(Hello Nicholas. You didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did you? Its easier to find your company on a search engine directly then through Yelp. You do know that Blogger is owned by Google, right? Ever hear of the Streisand Effect you dumb south american criminal fuck?)

Hi there,

We wanted to let you know that we've removed your review of Nixsys Open Systems. Your review was flagged by the Yelp community, and our Support team has determined that it falls outside our Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines) because it appears to be about employment issues.

We hope you will continue to participate on Yelp while keeping our Content Guidelines in mind.

Removed Content:
Worked for this company back in '07 when they were at a different office, Nicholas was nothing but a crook. He was paying me off the books and classifying me as a 1099 independent contractor. It took me about 5 months to catch on and realize I was getting screwed. So I emailed him and talked to him, lost the argument and he fired me.

Went in to pick up my last check, he makes me sign for it. Then he says he can 1099 someone for "up to 6 months". I left and did what I could to recoup my losses.

I filed an unemployment claim. Twice. Lost both times because he says I quit. They didn't take my argument into consideration that the guy was a complete scumbag. I did take him to some court thing and I had representation, sat in a little room and he agreed to pay the taxes owed. So he did file the W2 and I got about 500$.

Back then, the office looked like it used to be a garage and that they could pack up and leave on the drop of a dime. They had a lot of work orders for companies like HBO and the government sector - they're just a bunch of snakes though. I even complained to the IRS, didn't hear a peep out of them.

Nicholas (assuming you're currently the owner), you still owe me for unemployment insurance that you fraudulently denied any responsibility too. I ended up homeless for a year and couldn't find another job because of you.

Nixsys Open Systems

Category: IT Services & Computer Repair
3480 W Warner Ave
Bldg D
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 435-9610
www.nixsys.com

A Short History - XBOX 360 Homebrew Development To Be Updated

2011-09-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

April, 2009 - Dashboard 2.0.7371.0 - JTAG was discovered and a homebrew solution developed eventually.

August 11, 2009 - Dashboard 2.0.8498.0 - You just lost the game! The fun was over for all who updated to this version and beyond. There would remain no solution for two more years, and as a result very little homebrew software was developed - Certainly not enough to warrant jtag'ing an old console, as there is no LIVE functionality. The community still does not have a version of XBMC, much less any emulators that aren't available for other consoles.

August 28, 2011 - Fast forward two long, boring, bleak, depressing years later: News of the Reset Glitch Hack started making the rounds, confirmed as real! Unlike 2009, the persons who discovered this method claim it can not be closed off by a simple dashboard update. As of this writing (9/17), there still isn't anything they can do with it yet in terms of homebrew and backups. Modchips would have to be developed so anyone can use it, as the original way of exploiting the console is quite expensive and not for the beginner. Xell Reloaded would be developed around the same time, which is what the console boots into.

August 31, 2011 - Xecuter NAND-X and Xecuter CoolRunner developed; Maximus Stinger Add-On board developed by Team Maximus. Also, a really cheap media player was developed a few days prior to this (FFPLay) this is still very early in the development stage and just another means to an end.

September 6, 2011 - Things are starting to pick up! The 360-Clip announced, the x360glitchip announced (For the french market, but apparently its going to be sold here in the states too), and the EDGE 360 GX chip/nand flasher ($30, a bit pricey..) also announced.

September 8, 2011 - Even more chips announced: Matrix Glitcher 360 - Developed by Team Matrix. Very popular during the PS2 days, but since disappeared until now..This is probably the one to get, priced at $25; Along with the Matrix NAND Programmer (Priced at $35) Also announced is the SQUIRT360, which claims to boot a console in 5 seconds or less, to be an ACTEL-based chip, and be cheaper then the competion. However, they still have yet to make any further announcements as of this writing.

September 13, 2011 - Samples of the x360glitchip shown in a video. The console boots to Xell Reloaded between 4 and 20 seconds, averaging 9 seconds. Pricing is said to be $35 and looks to be a 7-wire install..Not very good price, but this is the first real evidence seen of a console in action with a chip installed.

September 16, 2011 - RxE developed by TeamFSD, which is the dashboard/menu that will most likely be on every console by the end of all of this development. This is a complete overhaul of the original Freestyle Dash by the same team, but still has all of the same features. As of now, there is really no way to use this yet.

September 20, 2011 - Xeno360 chip announced. Matrix Glitcher Speed Test - 18.6 Seconds average boot time.

September 24, 2011 - New version of Xell Reloaded. Squirt360 prototype pictures released.

September 28, 2011 - Proof of concept posted for dual booting official dash (Live-safe) and a homebrew image using Cygnos360 v2. Thx to antman1 from Cygnos360 forums.

Notes:

If you have a JTAG-Compatible dashboard from 2009, there's really nothing keeping you from updating to the current dashboard anymore.

Beware of EASYNEWS: Possible Phishers Working For The Company

2011-09-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

I stumbled into something interesting for EasyNews. When emailing for support, a very suspicious question came up: They asked for the last 8 digits of the credit card on file.

Companies only ask the last 4 (This is what the credit card company allows them to see) The first 4 are the same depending on the company, that means the middle 4 are all that's left and that can be guessed. The last 8? You just told them those numbers.

Sounds like something is going on at the company. When I called them out on it, they did not answer me back about it and instead said that they went ahead and unlocked my account. The account that doesn't even exist. Turns out I emailed the wrong NSP, my error but I used the correct support email address.

Fry's Electronics List of Approved Online Match Game Competitors And Policies

2011-08-23T12:34:00.001-07:00

I didn't see this list posted anywhere else, figured I'd help the internet out since this list has gotten me nearly 50% at least once by stopping in and bringing them the online price of their competitors.

THIS is Fry's Price Match policy, which includes "An authorized Internet competitor ready to ship". Problem is, I couldn't find that list anywhere. So I was at Fry's the other day and they gave me this after I asked nicely:

Here is the list of Online Internet Competitors they will honor in stores if you find it cheaper there:

Amazon.com
B&HPhoto.com
BestBuy.com
Brandsmart.com
Buy.com (This is a very good one for finding a deal and they usually have free shipping..)
CDW.com
CentralComputers.com
Circuitcity.com
CompUSA.com
Costco.com
CVS.com
Directron.com
HHGregg.com
J&R Music/Comp
K-Mart.com
Lowes.com
Macmall.com
Macys.com
Microcenter.com
Newegg.com
OfficeDepot.com
OfficeMax.com
Pepboys.com
Radioshack.com
RitzCamera.com
SamsClub.com
Sears.com
Staples.com
SuperBiiz.com
Target.com
Tigerdirect.com
ToysRUs.com
UltimateElectronics.com
Walgreens.com
Walmart.com
ZipZoomFly.com

Note: This is the list as of 8/23/11 and is subject to change.

Another note: Find somewhere that has free shipping!!! Otherwise that's a lot of work because they'll find out what it is then give you that deal. And for some reason, their system computers are least 10 years old so it's a lot of hassle and you could be in there for an hour.

.

Editorial: 2011 Bottled Water EWG Results

2011-07-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

THIS came up on the wire about the latest news that Penn and Teller told us years ago: Your bottled water is shit!
That's not why I'm here, we have bigger fish to fry. Read that list and tell me if you notice anything..Here's a hint: Start at the bottom and stay there.

..I'll just give you a few minutes..

*Reads the latest horse betting odds*

Times up. Check this out:

Is it just me, or do all 4 of those made-up categories fall under the same one: "Help those less fortunate than you". And are we supposed to believe that by buying a bottle of water, we're going to wipe out hunger, disease, and house everyone? We dont even know how many homeless people there are, 80% of them are leftovers from the wars we forgot why we started. Are people really that fucking stupid, are the liberals really able to pull THAT kind of a scam out of their asses, eat it and puke it up over on the public and get away with it? "Caring Sells" is a huge market, I get it, the Ronald Mcdonald House still exists for a reason and it isn't because they give a shit or else they'd help their impoverished employees - but when you don't really care at all about anything other then self-interest and selling hose-water to hippies, what does this really say about us? Shit, even the name "Project 7" sounds like a deal brokered by a rogue scientist with a team of the most heartless suits that would put Halliburton and Blackwater to shame (Get it, Blackwater? Har har..)

Warning: Quitting smoking may result in loss of ECTO-PLASM!

2011-06-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

The FDA clearly means serious business and will spend all of your money over the next 100 years to prove it:

Guide To Blank DVD Media - "What Should I Use"

2011-06-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

Intro: Ok, so you want to buy some media but you're really confused. Or maybe you want to try something new. Or maybe you're at the store and there's a lot of name-brands but you dont know what works. Or you bought something, but now it doesnt work and it was your important family photos. Or you bought a 100 spindle from (insert least-favorite retail chain) and none of them work.
The bad news is that 90% of the brands you'll find in the store are junk. From the Memorex's to the Maxells, the Sony's to the GQ's. The good news is there is hope, and there is a market for those who want to get what they pay for. The even Better news is quality blank media can cost the same or less then the junk you'll find on the shelves at the store because the prices are heavily marked up! Thanks to NewEgg and many other fine online dealers, you don't even have to leave the house or put any pants on to achieve this outcome. So lets get started!

No explanation needed - This is the company that started it all, they're the fine wine of dvd-r. If you have the money and the means, they'll make your every dream come true. Japanese born and bred, there's no higher quality then this. You will pay a very high price, but it will be worth it. I dont recommend their "Value Line" because the idea with buying TY brand is if you're in the market for the best.
VideoHelp.com Reference Link
Although now they're JVC Advanced, but still owned by TY

MKM/MCM Media Code. The upside with Verbatim is that they're readily available in stores and they use AZO dye, but the downside is that the good ones are getting harder to find. There was a rumor a while ago that they were phasing out the AZO DataLifePlus line, but time went by and it was not true. They have the knockoff "Life Series" and "Value Series" which are nothing but CMC rebrands - Avoid these at all cost, no matter if they're 100 pack for 5$, you will not get your moneys worth. Also a problem with the datalifeplus's is the country of origin. Only buy 'Made In Taiwan' or 'Made In Singapore'. Avoid 'Made In India/China' at all costs.

Summary - Buy Made In Taiwan or Made In Singapore. "AZO" will be on the label.
Avoid - "Life Series/Value Series", "Made In China/India".

(This is also the only brand recommended for Dual Layer DVD+R burning - The 2.4x's will safely burn up to 4x. Again, 'Made In Singapore' ONLY.)

As for the price on them, it depends where you go and if there's any sales. Personally I wouldn't pay over 23$ per 100, but that's just me. I'm used to waiting until they're 15$ or so, you might want to do that if you aren't immediately in the market. Lurk on Slickdeals.net and keep checking back, when a sale comes up it always hits there first. Be quick with it though, they sell out really fast.

Founded in 1990, Prodisc/Spin-X has accumulated vital experience in the R&D, manufacturing and sales of storage media, and has become one of the top-three disc manufacturers in the world. With its outstanding R&D ability and long-term cooperating with some Japanese media companies, Spin-X's advanced media awarded world-class certification.

High quality, god bless the Japanese! Expect to pay a premium (30-40$ per 100), but a lot of online stores run sales so keep checking. I know Meritline and Not available in retail stores, sadly. Since 1997, originally Prodisc, now called Spin-X. They have their own PRODISC media code, these aren't rebrands and use AZO dye, same as Verbatim. Havent read any reports about a bad batch or coasters. Highly recommended buying a 50 stack and seeing what happens. Only buy the Prodisc 8/16x and Spin-X 16x speed, the 4x Spin-X's are inferior.

LG 8x White (South Korea) Infodiscr20
I found these specific ones through process of elimination.
About 23$ per 100, not available in stores in the states anymore - Only found them on ebay. Slowly becoming a zombie brand, wasn't able to find a lot of dealers online. The color on the bottom of the discs are a very dark purple, which is nice. These are/were the ones preferred by the chinese and street peddlers for some reason - I guess they're highly compatible, but I personally have very little experience with them besides what I was given by circumstance in the past. Worth a shot, but make sure you get the right ones - Some of them are CMC, which are garbage.

----------

- Other Comments -

Not a lot out there on 'Princo' anymore, only a select few carry them. Worth a try.

RIP - Nashua, Arita, Playo. If you find any of these 3 brands, buy them and hook me up!

----------

Question: "Should I buy DVD-R or DVD+R?"
Answer: I only use DVD-R for dvd5's, 4.37gb.
DVD+R is not as compatible, and was not approved by DVD6C (The eggheads of the companies who license the stuff behind all of this - Includes JVC/Mitsubishi/Samsung) until 2008. And last I checked, this format is still NOT Approved by the DVD Forum Standards Group. The DVD+RW Alliance don't count for anything, anything they say is probably over-exaggerated or otherwise propaganda.

Question: "What burner should I buy?"
Answer: I only use Samsung, but YMMV. Dont buy the cheapest one at the store, ffs.

Question: "What speed should I burn at?"
Answer: I don't go above 6x, usually I run at 4x - This will increase your chances for a better burn and prolong your burner's life. For Dual-Layer, I don't go over 4x. Do not burn at 1x - Seriously, just dont. If your burner doesn't support anything above 4x and your computer gets bogged down at even the mere mention of using a sensible speed, then you need to buy better hardware.

Question: "What the hell is DVD-RAM?"
Answer: Nothing, they were phased out years ago. If you see it, inform the shop keeper to donate it them goodwill and stop carrying junk.

Question: "What about CD-R?"
Answer: Find some old-school verbatims with the dark blue recording surface. They're out there.

Question: "What about the dye types? Does that matter?"
Answer: Yes it does, everything recommended here is made with the appropriate qualifications to answer your question.

/background - 15 years with blank media brands. I've been here since cd burners were 150$ and dvd burners were 1x and the blanks cost a buck a piece. How far we've come since then.

Post any questions, I'll do my best to answer but keep in mind I'm selective in what I use. I can't recommend anything not included here.

Rapture? Great, wake me up when it comes.

2011-05-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

This Ugg-Boot-Company-Thing Has Been Around For Longer Than You Think

2011-04-20T01:07:00.001-07:00

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on YOU!"

In the 90's, Teva Sandals were the biggest shoe-fad among nitwits and jock douchebags. People were throwing their credit cards down in the area of 60$ for a pair of these, having them made you king for the decade - Unless all of your friends had a pair too, then you were just one of the crowd. Which is typical even today - except now, guys compete for the biggest house and the most women they can fuck. And the women compete for the best car they never work for and the most guys they can fuck. The fucking tends to lead to the car, somehow that makes sense - Most guys are narcissistic retards and don't deserve their money anyway. You don't see me throwing a fit about it.

Now it's all about Ugg Boots, the worst abomination since black prisoners started sagging their pants for being too skinny. Even 30 years later they're still milking that goat. Most pants-fads tend to come and go pretty fast - Skidz were huge in the 80s, Z-Cavariccis were another one, but the most recent one was Capri Pants..Only faggots like Ashton Kutcher still wear that bullshit, it blew over within a year.
I dont want to turn this into a personal-opinion rant, but I will not date a woman or even be seen with one who wears a pair of these Ugg Boots in public. Owning a pair should be like owning an SS-Uniform bought from some closet-homo off of Craigslist: You can wear it around the house and take pictures, but damned if you would put it on and do the food shopping.

Anywho! Guess who makes Ugg Boots? Company called Deckers Outdoor Corporation - The same company who also made Teva. Feel stupid yet for wearing them, falling for a fad again from the same company more than 10 years ago?

No? It gets worse, I'm afraid you've been had if you were into Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth back in the day..Or supported the Alien Workshop Skateboard Company: Simple Shoes were really popular with the grunge freaks and skaters back when the Teva and Khaki wearin' pussies were pissing them off. All of my sisters hippie and skater pals had at least one pair.

Guess what though? Yep, same company. The jocks and the skaters mutually agreed to support the same company, albeit not directly implied. You guys might as well have been playing football together while listening The Smashing Pumpkins on a BMW radio in the field. That is pure marketing genius. You fell for it then, and you're falling for it now by the same company:

These days Simple Shoes advertises themselves as eco-friendly, all-natural and organic. The website is rebellious, hip, and thumbs their noses at 'The Man'. Most likely their demographics now are peta-freaks and skinny vegans with too much money who want to save the whales but don't give a fuck about people. Logical, I know!

Too bad you're all being taken for a ride. That is to say, you're bending over and letting them jam their boots right up your ass: The same corporation who currently owns Ugg Boots made in a sweatshop in the far-east, From Sheepskin, and sold to rich Gaga-Worshiping Skanks in the far-west, whose only priorities in the real world include Valtrex and Manicures..also has a stake in the Organic Shoe Market. And they both are or were incredibly popular fads at one point. They're fucking with you more then you can possibly imagine.

In all fairness, this is far from the first time a company has had conflict of interest by making opposite brands to have their cake and eat it too. One example from the same time period? 'OK Cola' was a secret attempt by Coca-Cola to get the Gen-X'ers on their side. Didn't work though, they were ousted and lost a whole lot of money. The same guy who marketed 'New Coke' was also behind Ok Cola. Seems like the coke company is just not good with most things.

Sorry folks. People told you marketing was all bullshit, but you never listened, and you aren't likely to listen now from a 30-year-old blogger. But I tried. Decker's Stock price is currently $93 a share because of shitheads like you.

tl;dr - The same company who makes Uggs (The #1 shoe-fad) also makes Teva and Simple (The #1 shoe-fads of the 90's - one was marketed to the squares, the other to the skaters). Also Simple is an "Organic Shoe Brand" but Uggs are not.

From the "Slightly Disturbing But Not Surprised" Department

2011-04-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Duane Scott Brown/ProtegeES2002 was a public school teacher in Cincinnati when he propositioned what he thought was a young male played by Jay Alternative of Peej.
From what I gather by scanning the article - He likes to cuddle up with Bieber next to the fireplace while listening to Mozart and drinking fine wine, Insists that your education is key in the real world, knows his history about the Third Reich, Hates the smell of cigarettes - Especially menthols, Insists he is not out for just sex, Wants someone to move in with him as soon as possible but does not have $1000 to make it happen, And clearly doesn't afraid of anything.

He got busted but avoided being branded for life. The cops, as usual, did nothing until the school he worked at personally got on their asses to put down the donuts. Seriously, Three Police Departments were emailed and all three ignored the person reporting Brown's attempt. Tax dollars well-spent, this was back in 2005. Why Ohio is the most important state during election time will always be a mystery to me. And this is one random sampling among the untold numbers out there that the cops fuck up over every day in the real world.

...But I was wondering about his screen name that he used...

I dug up a semi-recent Court Sheet for a traffic violation from 2009.

Notice anything? Right. He still has the same 2002 Mazda Protege as referenced in his screen name "ProtegeES2002" that PJ, the city and state police, and the CEO of a school district caught him on - Hell, Google his home address and you can probably find a satellite photo of it sitting in the driveway as of either this year or last year.

That's actually a really good idea, let's try it out since we have a minute:

..And you thought the car in Stephen King's 'Christine' was cursed, eh?

The 90's In Review: Lords Of Acid

2011-03-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

"That'll be the end of your love affair, with Sex Bomb Annie and her plastic derriere!"

Hard to believe this was 15 years ago, how time flies!
The 90's techno/industrial scene was actually smaller then we remember. Techno was big and over-saturated with kids blowing their minds on X and Ketamine in basement raves (How I loathed them all..), and the Industrial scene is still around - Filter and Nine Inch Nails are still floating around. But mixing the two was unique, and they're also referred to as Post-Industrial.
Anywho, One of the groups that made it big was Lords Of Acid. If you were from the 90's and weren't living under a rock, doing the Macarena, or wasting your time with Bone Thugs N Harmony while sagging your pants to your ankles like a retard, you knew about these guys - Either you bought their 'Our Little Secret' cd or you knew someone who did. Still dont know why the pants-dragging thing hasn't blown over yet..Dont know about these kids. Now get off my lawn!

LOA, taking their name in part from Traci Lords, came out of Belgium to the states and really made it big during the mid-90s, peaking in 1997 with "Our Little Secret". The lyrics were bizarre, ranging from the subject of Cybersex - Complete with a modem soundbyte at the end that most of us would rather just forget - to Bestiality and Sado-Masochism; Hell, even the subject of aliens and a blow-up doll came up for some reason. It was just completely original, none of us expected it and we all ate it up. Good shit, whoever produced it knew what they were doing. Chances are we wont have an album like that again for a very long time, if ever.

1997 when they peaked

We all knew who they were. Like I said, the post-industrial scene was not big at that time. Most of us had a T-Shirt of Jade4u from the cover our OLS. They made a few records before that, LUST in 1991 (Which sounds like very simple techno, but you can see the humor was there) and Voodoo-U 1991, which was very heavily influenced by industrial. Personally I didn't like it, I felt it was too dissident and sloppy. None of us talked about it, I never knew anyone who bought it besides me. They weren't even trying to make anything you could sing to - But 'Young Boys' was a good track and 'Marijuana In Your Brain' was decent, they both had a fun chorus and harmony. The sound influence from the second one mentioned would have a lot to do with how OLS sounded 3 years later. LUST was good though, I still listen to "I Sit On Acid" once in a great while.

Although the cover was funny, it was a disappointing record. Clearly they were not cut out to dedicate themselves to industrial.

By the year 2000, they came around where I living - Houston - but I didn't have the chance to see them live. They made one more record after that, Farstucker, which has their best song, 'Lucy's Fucking Sky'. Check it out, you'll see what I mean..Its almost as if they were moving on, I could just tell in that cd that they were leaving the scene. Not to mention Jade left before that record came out, so it was a matter of time anyway.

Released in 2000, an Anagram for "Star Fucker". By this record, they had fizzled. It had its good moments though.

..And they did after that. Once the 90's were over, it was the end of the post-industrial era. We were disappointed but we knew nothing lasts forever. Most of the fans disappeared, and what we have now doesn't compare to what these guys gave us. They paved the way for something better, but I'm fairly disappointed - Partly due to the political correctness today, and partly due to the techno scene still being underground even worse then it was in the 90's.

One of their remix singles. Very disappointing, there's a reason you probably wont be able to find a copy of this online

Personally I think they sold so many albums and tickets primarily because of their image. Jade4u was hot and had a great voice, their cd covers were always well-made, and word of mouth gave them a boost because of their live performancs. And they didn't have too much competition - I know the Genitorturers were around, but they were a different theme; we never thought of comparing the two. The other artists in the scene were also good to them, I know they came out with a remix cd that had Sasha from KMFDM doing his own take (The Expand Your Head cd, 'Lover: Cake Mix'), and their Greatest Tits cd was actually put together in a decent sense; even has a few additional songs, "Stoned On Love Again", "Gimme Gimme" and ESPECIALLY "Nasty Love". That was one hell of a dance song, the harmony is amazing in that one.

Supposedly a new cd is coming this year after bailing for 10 years. We'll see what happens. Knowing they've experimented with a lot of sounds and themes, it could either be incredibly good or an incredible disappointment.

Essential for anyone's collection. Sums up their best work.

Download:

Lucys Fucking Sky - Single
Our Little Secret - Full
Greatest Tits - Full

-Or Better Yet-
Complete Collection on The Pirate Bay

RIP Wax Trax Records. Without them, none of this scene would have been possible.

AT&T Gonna Hate On Us :(

2011-03-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

May 2nd, AT&T is capping at 150gb per month. Bummer.
Obviously I gotta abandon ship. Im running at the 6mbit plan, which means 75 hours of straight downloading will put me over. And my line is active for about 20 hours a day, give or take. Plus I game online.

Shame too, some companies have done this in the past and still do it (Commie-cast) and some have tried and failed (Roadrunner). There was some news in canada recently about them attempting to do this and the backlack was so bad they decided against it.

Now I and the other subscribers have two options: Cut our losses or run the bills up out of protest. Im kinda in between, maybe suggesting paying your bill like you normally do and telling them to shove their overage fees that you never agreed to up their cynical fat asses. Chances are it wont last forever, and there's even a chance it wont happen - but dont hold your breath.

It also begs the question I've seen on Dslreports: What about those under contract for unlimited internet? Guess they can do what they want, ma bell reigns over us again.

Then there's also the contradiction they made: "AT&T claims their average DSL customer uses around 18GB a month, and these changes will only impact about 2% of all DSL customers -- who the company states consume "a disproportionate amount of bandwidth."
(Hey assholes: If it was only 2%, why would you give a fuck? Its obviously greater than that, but the bottom line is money.)

You and I both know that the internet is becoming way more bandwidth-intensive with the changing of the times. HD streaming, netflix, synchronized cloud storage, bittorrent is more popular than ever, gaming for all you nerds, and usenet traffic of all that porn is posted at 10tb per day for the pervert in all of us.

What really gets me though is America is the land of all of this great innovation and technology and options and choices and everything - But our bandwidth to ensure means of delivery sucks. And why? Europe and Asia have really super speeds, especially places like Sweden - The original home of the pirate bay.

1980's Department Stores On The East Coast

2011-03-03T01:20:00.000-08:00

**Needs some editing, I'll work on it some more later. If you have a comment to throw in, please do!**

Kmart might be a dead horse that needs to be put down, but the 80s and early 90s had a lot of department stores just like that on east coast NJ I grew up in and visited often.
I took some time to compile a list of the ones I do remember. Was very young at the time - notice how they all ended up. The coolest part about these stores were their logos and the framework that designed the places - seeing shingles along the front, we don't get that anymore. It was real old-school, and as late as 10 years ago I noticed some of the buildings are still standing with the signs still there; and vacant, very vacant. If you still have a Kmart in the area, that's what these places were like. Had a small-town charm while still being run like an MNC - meaning they all ran themselves to the ground just by making every dumb decision they could. But, I do miss them. Compared to what we have now, I would rather go back in time and keep what they offered.
And before we get into it: I never visited Crazy Eddie's, the most I got from that place was a yellow hat when my dad went. From what I gather, they were really big on handing out swag. Wasn't good quality, I dropped it in the kiddie pool and it was instantly ruined. Yeah I know, Eddie Antar was thrown in the clink on fraud. Dont care.
One thing, I can't remember the name of one store: They sold a budget store-brand called "Why Pay More?". Had a picture of an old cartoon grandmother on it. The puffed wheat was good, yo. Anyone remember it? Im thinking it could have been Laneco.

'90s for me, but they were really big in the 80's. Real easy to remember, this was the one other department store besides the K-Mart on the other of town in Pennsylvania. Every other store I remember there is either out of business or really close to being - Blockbuster, Kmart, A&P. We were caught shoplifting from A&P one time, the parents never found out because they were nice enough to release me to my friend's parents and never pressed charges. Im not even going to say what I stole, its embarrassing. The friend I was with, I found out recently he died years ago from a Heroin overdose. Which doesn't surprise me, he tried to kill himself once in high school - only lived because i tipped off his probation officer. But, what can you do? Darwinism does not play favoritism.
Anyway, about Ames. One time I didnt know better and this really scary pedo met me outside and bought me a drink at the place you sit down. Wanted to play with my feet for some reason - Fuck if I know, right?

Grampa had a big thing for Bradlees, last I remember. Got a backpack from there when Eastpak was a must-have for everyone - Managed to hold onto it during most of my teenage years. Didnt think I'd remember, did ya Grampa? ;)

Dont remember anything specific about them - We spent a considerable amount of time in these stores though. Started in the 50's, They went under in 1999 - And had a huge problem with Howard Stern for reasons still unknown. It wasn't typical of pro-religious groups with a philosophy running department stores back then. Their competitors came in and picked at the carcasses when they went under, and moved into their space. Like hermit crabs, I tell you!

This was my favorite one! They were EVERYWHERE, even in some small little shitbag town in Pennsylvania named Brodheadsville in the 90's. Dont know why I loved them, just did. I remember 10+ years ago I went driving past one of the old locations in NJ along one of the major highways. Near Lakewood I think. The place was still standing, old shopping carts were around and rusting, shrubs looked more tumbleweeds, and the Blue color was still on the front of the building. Shame this place closed, it took a very long time to finally have their stores completely decommissioned. Dad bought me a lot of toys here, I had a real thing for the real ghostbusters ;)

Probably the place mentioned above carrying the "Why Pay More" store brand. I dont remember much about them, but they had an ace up their sleeve you never see anymore: Their employees were unionized. They had a website up as late as 1999, company was gone and forgotten by 2001. Google has next to no idea who they were either - And yes, you can tell I grew up in a very poor family.

Honorable Mention:
Toys R Us - I can remember as early back as the mid-80s when they stocked GI Joe's, Atari, and we even bought Super Mario 3 for my birthday there. I know they're still around, but its not like it used to be - Last I heard is they were selling tramp stamps in vending machines and other ridiculous bullshit. There's an old vacant Toys R Us here in Socal that was vacant for 10 years at least - Full of graffiti (Not the good kind), vagrants, and trash. The city complained so much that they finally began renovating it into some concert hall this year. Passed by it a few times, looks pretty decent so far.

Honorable Mention:
K-B-Toys: What's not to miss if you were an 80's and 90's kid? The Push Pops, Army Ants and M.A.S.K. were all pioneered by this company - Rumor has it the cartoons were a gimmick to just sell toys! I was even honored with working for them in 2000, stayed until after Christmas then moved - This was exactly when the Dreamcast was priced down to 50$ a console and the Xbox-1 made its appearance. Great little company, the work was hell sometimes but I got to sleep around with this one chick who later became the store manager when I heard the store manager they had was fired for theft or fraud - cant remember which one, but I didn't think it was true. Too bad the company finally went under, this is one bad thing Walmart did - As if we needed another reason.

Brief Review: "I Spit On Your Grave"

2011-01-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

..More like a history about this movie. But read on.

Very rarely these days are remakes decent - Case in point of Rob Zombie and his ideas on "Halloween" - completely turned me off to the concept.
Even more rare then that are remakes better then the original - Especially when the original sucked. How they were able to get the approval and funding to remake this movie is beyond me. It took a production company with balls of steel to take this big of a risk.

A little bit of background into this movie:

The original "I spit on your grave" was actually made in the late '70s and was called "Day of the woman". The acting was terrible, the rape scene went on and eventually got boring (as strange as that is to say), and the revenges plotted and carried out were mediocre at best.
But. Being that the 70s and 80s were a time when extreme violence in movies was kind of a new thing (Italian Horror and the Exploitation genres with directors like Deodato/Fulci/D'Amato were coming around), somehow it ended up on the UK's banned list, as a 'Video Nasty'. I've seen hundreds of old italian horror films, Day of the woman far from qualified ending up on the list. Demand for the movie skyrocketed based on the "You can't have it" form of marketing - See the South Park Episode "Cartmanland" for more details).

Its the most successful form of advertisement then, and this hasn't changed - The movie called "Grotesque" made in Japan about 2 years ago ended up on this list, suddenly everyone in the loop wanted it; Before that, it was just another exploitation movie that Japan turns out every other day. Anyways, I've had the original movie for about 10 years, and it was only because of the banned list that I heard of the damn thing. If I could go back in time and ask for my money back from the bootlegger who sold it to me, I would turn him upside-down, shake him by the ankles and see what comes out.

Needless to say, the original was barely known at the time. The actors went on to do nothing later on, it made zero in profit, and the name "I spit on your grave" was only because some jerk in America, I think he's that fuckhead named "Jerry Gross" (Who's been dead for 10 years) bought the rights to re-release it and kept the renaming rights on the stipulations.

..Which brings us to the remake from this year. I liked it, and here's why:

I can tell right off the bat that the director watched every Saw movie and was heavily influenced by the "Assisted Suicide" and "Ironic Death" concepts, that was cool. The deaths were brutal, the acting spot-on; The rape scene was pretty nauseating, but it also made for enjoying the aftermath. I have a penchant for revenge movies. Plus I lived in the deep south where this all takes place and had my run-ins with a fair share of rednecks. I can sympathize with her ;)
I wont give any spoilers away, but it was well worth the time spent watching it.

Again, I never imagined a remake could be good - but when the original was terrible enough, there wasn't too much they could do to make it worse.

HD TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zU3U-9B3fE

TORRENT:
(XViD)

NZB/USENET:
(DVDR)
(XViD)

-Dont read the wikipedia, it spoils everything.

How I Quit Smoking - And So Can You.

2011-01-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

(Its been a few years since posting on here. I thought now would be a great time to come back. Hope I still have at least one or two readers left!)

I Quit smoking December '09. It was the hardest thing ever but it was my christmas present to myself - Ironically, I was mostly broke because of spending all of money to feed my addiction. I smoked on and off in my teenager years and then later on was addicted for just over 5 years.

I had quit by means of cold turkey. Essentially, Suffered and ran out the clock. I can see why people are deterred from quitting, Even though most people who smoke express a desire that they do want to quit. The tobacco industry spent a lot of money to keep people hooked once they start, and it showed.

It was very painful and scary and it ruined my life for about a week initially, then again for about 6 months afterward - Couldnt sleep because of the twitches, but got used to it after about a month or so.

Heres how I did it:

I quit on a Friday afternoon, canceled all of my plans for the weekend, and decided to get it done.
I got everything that was documented as common withdrawal symptoms within the first 3 days (It peaks the 3rd day then goes down from there) and even some that arent so common: Shakes, flu-like symptoms, nightmares, cold chills/fevers, this unmistakable strong urge to just cry for no reason. And I did! I was feeling ok one minute, then just burst into tears the next. I wasn't sad or depressed about anything, wasn't scared, I just wanted to cry. I cant explain it any other way then it feeling like a sneeze - It was 95% involuntary, meaning I could hold it back if I really wanted to.

Along the period of those days I thought my life was going to essentially end and that I was going to die..That's what the withdrawals do - Put the very fear of Death into your head because the withdrawals are so unusual, you think your body is essentially dying. Quite the opposite: Its ridding those chemicals out of your body and waking up. The drug is very deceptive and tried to string me into believing it. But it didn't, not for a second.

It was worse then that too: Unable to hold down food was a big problem. Had to live off of soup, even crackers was pushing it. I had bigger problems though - At the time, I was on psychiatric medications..Threw them up instantly, so I went unmedicated for about 4 days. The good news is I've went off those meds before without too many problems, so that didn't bother me as much as it should have Again, this was the drugs way of trying to convince me I needed it to live, I went into this project knowing to not give into that. (Im not taking those medications now, its been a very long time since that.)

I had a few aces up my sleeve though that made it 100 times easier then the common addict trying to quit smoking by his own means. I'm hoping this is where I can convince as least someone to take the plunge. The tobacco industry never factored in that people have the internet as a tool to quit smoking, but it was just a means to an end.

Support - Relatives and my unorthodox social worker who answered her phone even at 3am when I thought I was about to die. No wonder nicotine addiction kills over a million people a year, The drug changes your brain into thinking it needs it to live! This is not something you want to play with, this is your life.

Privacy - I was alone and had no stress whatsoever besides body-chemistry. I watched movies, slept, cried, read more about nicotine addiction, called the two most important people I could think of. Stress and life-issues are a big reason why people fall back into smoking during their most vulnerable stage from quitting. And all it takes is one cigarette to restart the clock..Remember: As long as you have any amount of nicotine in your body while you're a smoker, you will always remain addicted. If you have a family/obligations/etc, my advice? Quit on a friday after work, check into a hotel and dont come out until at least monday night. Remember that it's a 3-day rule, 3rd day is always the worst.

..And a HELL of a lot of research beforehand. I spent a few weeks reading into what to expect from that roller-coaster ride through hell. Actually I take that back, Hell would be a more preferable method then the agonizing withdrawal phase. I went into it knowing full well that it would not kill me by quitting, wrote it down more than once in a few places I could easily read - Although that voice in my head screamed and yelled and would not shut the fuck up that im going to die if I dont pick up another cigarette. "Just one, we promise it'll be better.." Its a jackhammer pounding at your fucking mind that you NEED tobacco. But thats the drug, nothing more.
The best part is there are Zero fatal symptoms from cigarettes :) You might feel like you suddenly caught a very nasty flu or a spider-bite and you're running a 103 degree high-grade fever and you're vomiting just to feel alive. But guess what? You didnt. This is the drug's way and your brains way of reacting to such a strong change in your body. Its waking up.

Now for some bad news? The gums, patches, pills, therapy. Doesnt work. At all. Chantix? Wellbutrin? Nicotine gums? Sorry, tried them all. That's the pussy way of trying to get out of it, and that's not a sure-thing. Big tobacco knows the usual tricks about the medications and gums, believe me on this: They've worked around it. Its little more then a teaser to try such unscrupulous methods. How the hell can you quit a nicotine addiction by putting nicotine into your body? That's not how it works, Nicorette should be sued out of existence for fraud! And no, tapering does not work in the grand scheme of things. You are a Drug Addict if you smoke cigarettes. Nicotine is more addictive then Heroin and the tobacco industry makes a trillion dollars a year by killing you, your friends, your family, and they profit from those deaths. A million people a year, that's a holocaust every 6 years, and nobody thinks of it that way.

The good news! The cold turkey method is the #1 most successful way to permanently quit. Out of everyone who quits, by whatever means, the cold turkey method has the lowest rate of falling-back into it. My theory on that one? It literally scares the living shit out of you as to what smoking really does..Its almost like a brush of death. Like you're hallucinating the grim reaper paying you a visit. But then he checks his list and it was a misunderstanding. The chances are already NOT in your favor, its best to do whatever you can to raise the odds. I used to have the 'rate of success' figures in front of me. I dont anymore, but its somewhere around 10% of all attempts - Most of those attempts are from cold-turkey.

Hope I've helped at least one other person consider quitting. If I have, I consider myself a job well done.

Vuvuzelas - Monty Python Style

2010-06-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Eh, So I got bored. Digg this if you like it.

Rabies Alert! Well, sort of..

2010-06-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is just the damndest thing I've ever seen on a search engine..

I was doing some research on rabies for whatever reason, so I went to google and typed in 'rabies', right? On the first page I uh, saw this...It appears to be the picture of a mexican alongside the latest news on rabies..

Clicking on his photo brings you to a local news site. Turns out his name is Roland Lopez, a gangbanger from Austin Texas who was picked up on weapons charges last week..Has a pretty big rap sheet, definitely not a guy you'd want to meet in a dark alley.
My theory is that Google knows something that they aren't telling us, keep in mind that there are only two reported cases of humans catching rabies every year. Dont bother trying to see the error yourself, it was fixed a few hours later. In any case, I sure hope that his cellmate is up to date with his vaccinations, just to be on the safe side.

Here's the news blurb that his picture brings you to:

By the way, every time I give someone a hug, I always worry I'll catch lice from them. Perhaps I should get some new friends?

Claims of "Disease/Drug Free" Are 5% Honest

2009-12-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

I did a recent experiment on the site craigslist.org, which is more or less an unmoderated community..People buying/selling things, prostitution ads, job ads, and forums plagued by trolls.

The section I was interested was "Casual Encounters", which is exactly that..Meaningless sex. Not my cup of tea, but to each their own.

So what I did was browse around and found about 20 ads of people claiming to be 'Disease/Drug Free' and emailed them a simple question: "Do you have your latest test results?".

The results are not good. In total, I received about 4 replies. One example was a guy flat-out lied and told me he had verbal results from last month and paid money to the county. I know this was a lie, and I called him on it and he didn't reply back. I believe his ad was advertising to find girls who are 'Squirters'. The other replies were equally meaningless.

But. There was one couple, a man and a woman who I guess are into sado-masochism looking for women to play with. They first replied along the lines of "We dont sleep with everyone we know" and after I emailed him repeating the same question, he finally confirmed that he can provide results. Which makes him the only person to do so, the rest were lies or were just unanswered emails.

So, The odds are roughly 5% that the person you'll meet who claims to be disease-free can actually prove it in writing. The rest of them are either self-confident or are just lying to find a partner while relying on false pretense.

In order to get a better average, I might do this same experiment next month and average the two results for a better figure. Personally I think it'll either be the same or lower then the rate I have now.

The Association For Retarded Citizens

2009-11-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

I bet they have a very long waiting list...

Digg This!

New Medical Marijuana Policy Issued

2009-10-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Google News

Digg.com

States are now free to make their own laws. Feels great to live in California, we've had legal medical marijuana for ages ;)

Thanks Obama <3

Several days ago I made a comment on Digg in regards to an article that claims 166 million people use marijuana worldwide:

"Obviously nobody can lock up 166 million people, so something has to be wrong with the law if enough people are ignoring it because they don't see it a crime. Kinda like speeding..It's illegal and you might get a fine if you can't talk your way out of it, but everybody does it anyway.

I don't think total legalization will realistically happen anytime soon (Its more of a business to keep people in jail then to keep them out. Cops have bills to pay, and probation officers have to pay off their loans).

This is all due to the fearmongering of the drug war(s) and those insulting commercials we had to deal with. Nothing new though, Harry Anslinger did it over 80 years ago and they did it again during the 80's (Haven't researched it enough to mention any other dates), blaming marijuana for why society is being flushed right down the toilet and using voodoo pharmacology to try to scare the public. Anyone remember that commercial of the stoned teenagers driving into a kid on a bike?

They played every card you can imagine and then some, but they're running out and obviously people aren't stupid, they're just defying an unjust and outdated law; plain and simple.

I don't even personally use marijuana, even though I more then qualify for a state medical card due to my mental disability. Don't see a need for it, but at the same time I believe people have the right to make up their own mind, choose what's best for themselves, and if someone makes the wrong decisions to just learn from them. No big deal, that's life. Locking people up does nothing to prevent crime and petty crimes like smoking pot with your friends once a weekend hardly qualifies as criminal if you read the newspaper as often as I do."

Just An Update!

2009-10-14T09:26:00.000-07:00
I've been asked to write a success story for Orange County and how the mental health care system and housing authority has helped me get back into shape and on my feet. It will be published on one of the county's websites, but I dont know which one.

Also, the yearly awards ceremony is coming soon and I've been nominated to receive several - But again, I dont know which categories it will be for. I'll post pictures when I can.

UPDATE: I won an award for the two years of volunteer work I did!

Also getting back into school soon - I was supposed to be starting the mental health worker program, but they had a waiting list of 100+ so that never happened.

That's all for now :)

Ooh, rejected by the six-month old "Newport-Mesa Daily Voice"

2009-10-01T17:46:00.000-07:00
So I went on an internship program and met with them today. Office was about the size of my living room and two people were sitting on the couch, a smug asshole was rested at his desk and some bull-dyke looking scary bitch was the one who I was talking with. I found them via good ol' fashioned Cregzlst (Remind me never to do that again).
Anyways, I got an email from some jerk with the excuse of "We're meeting with local high schools and college programs to find people, thanks for your time". Obviously more bullshit, right? Ah, these are troubled times when one can't find a non-paying volunteer job at a website ran out of what appears to be a garage.
I don't think they liked my uh, unusual brand of humor, and as one person put it: "The language".
One rule about journalism is that free speech and the first amendment is always to be accepted. Fuck the status quo. I'm embarrassed I even put on a nice shirt when I met them and feel I dodged a bullet with this one.
Besides, who needs an entire staff to run a shitbag website registered March 9th of this year anyway, a stay-at-home blogger like me could do their work.
The entire interview was very disorganized. She plopped down an assignment in my lap and said to have fun with it. No small talk, no chit-chat, nothing. Just another run of the mill site with its head so far up its ass making its own rules that it wouldn't know journalism if it hit them square in the balls.
Don't be surprised if this entire project registers a 404 error in the near future. You're all a misfortune to the internet, and you're only setting yourselves up for failure. Major bad karma points on you all ;)

Final words: I will never stop writing about what I think is right, because I was taught to always believe in something and stick with it. No matter if I'm wrong, or if im out of line, or even apathetic. That's what writing is about, writing what you love and hate. Get with it, adapt to the times, or wither away like all the other small-minded ones.

Computer-Voiced Crank Calls!

2009-09-23T09:31:00.000-07:00
(Update 9/30/09 with two more at the bottom!)
Here's what a friend of mine and myself have been working on:

Dirty Vagina has church confused.
W*lmart tells off your mother for not washing yourself.
I swear my friend told me the dentist can give me a sex change!
My vagina is leaking
NEW - I need my testicles laminated
NEW - Hotel for a mass orgy

Ask The Community - Why People Sag Their Pants Down To Their Ankles.

2009-09-06T18:53:00.000-07:00
The internet's great, isn't it? I had forgotten that just because I live in orange county and I'm down with the whole multiculturalism thing, it dawned on me that there just isn't that many black people here. I had also forgotten that they have the most interesting culture of pulling their pants down so the waist is half-way below the thighs (After observing this for the first time in ages..) and I was like "Ah yeah, now I remember.." But I never did figure out why they do this, despite growing up on the east coast and attending public schools where half of the population were outcasts from New York. Like everyone else I turned to google and asked it why some people are keen on this..Here's a few of the replies, and some of them are just fucking goofy:

"Looks like they took a big dump in their pants, the same effect that baby's have when their diapers are so full they're sagging and about to fall off.."

"I have a theory that it's a conspiracy by the Indians and Chinese to increase the dumbness quotient of American youth, so that they can steal even more of our jobs and money. If kids are so focused on keeping their pants from falling down, it distracts them from learning anything useful.."

"I have some people like that at my school and they even do that in gym class and when they run, they waddle like a duck."

"When I'm waiting at a red light, or I'm at the mall, it's so entertaining to watch a group of wannabes walk by - with their pants around their knees; their shirt as long as a dress; their shoes untied; and the sparkle of gold coming from their mouth. The only thing they are missing is a big red nose."

"This style is designed to acclimate them to the poorly-fitting clothing they will soon be wearing in prison."

"Please don't make fun of the mentally challenged children who fail to put their trousers on properly.."

(Actually, in this case it's full-grown adults. If you want to call them that..)

"Lack of parental guidance. Lack of self-esteem. Lack of appropriate role models.
Lack of positive peer pressure. Lack of a full length mirror. You pick."

"In prison, men tended/tend to have sexual relations with each other since female companionship is lacking. One way men "showed interest" in relations was to sag their pants, letting other men know they were willing. So, basically, its root stems from a request for gay male sex in prison. Every time I see a man sagging, I burst out laughing. If they only knew."

Guess what? FALSE. But it would still be funny to tell someone who's doing it that, just to see what they say. Try it ;)

Anyway, it did originate in prisons due to their "One size fits all" rule, but the road to a mainstream thing was paved by failed hip-hop acts like Kriss Kross. God bless the music industry..Whoever thought fads from the 90's would still be around?

1 In 5 Will Be A Victim Of Sexual Assault

2009-08-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

"..If there are 100 homes in the neighborhood, about 10 will house a child being sexually abused.."

"..One in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be victims of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.."

This was in the newspaper this morning in Orange County, California. We as a society have a lot of work to do. These people need to be put behind bars, castrated for their own protection, then put to death.

Psycho

2009-08-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

If you see this guy on the news next year, remember that you saw him here first!

AT&T Blocking 4Chan.org!!

2009-07-26T18:40:00.000-07:00
Cancel your service if you have AT&T. Dont care if there are no other options, CENSORSHIP IS NEVER THE ANSWER!!!!!!!

Digg this:
Digg.com

EDIT: AT&T removes block, less than one day later ;)

EDIT: Consumerist.com has the info on what really happened. Turns out it was a DDOS attack and they blocked it until they could fix everything.

Change of Plans!

2009-07-11T08:06:00.000-07:00
I decided to start a new blog about all the stuff that keeps my folks lurking on my site. It'll be private, and I'll be moving all the appropriate posts over there. The reason for this is I want to keep the two fields separate, so I can still have a day-to-day blog that's public, but a different one for all the other stuff. I'm in the process of talking to a few graphics designers to get set up, should take about a week or so. I'll post a link, but you'll have to email me for an invite. As I understand, you can only use Gmail.

This way, it gets rid of the usual prying eyes and preserves the last two years of work. They obviously wouldn't have a reason to be on here anymore, so it'll just work itself out :)

The new address will be: BaD KarmA: Family Business

Philosophy.com - Just More Mindless Consumption

2009-06-05T09:15:00.000-07:00
You know, there was a time when I actually had some sort of hope for the future. I wanted to believe that our society was heading in the right place.
Needless to say, it hasn't, and websites like Philosophy.com just confirm this idea. It's really hard to think that some of our best thinkers from the past would support the idea of using their good name and ideology that's supposed better ourselves, to instead hawk cheap merchandise, from Wrinkle Cream that was made in a vat and doesn't work, to "Philosophy makeup, designed to simplify life".

These people are vermin and they're parasites, plain and simple. I found out about this from Slickdeals, of which I was a member for a brief period of time. I actually posted that its people like them that sicken me to no end, and got banned for it. Some nitwit even felt the need to throw out some stupid Nietzche quote that she probably googled, hard to believe that anyone who buys imported makeup has ever read a book in their life.
If you read that forum link I posted, you'll notice that 90% of the people commenting on it are women (I assume the other 10% have rich wives that love getting free shit and not working..)
Those idiots with one-hit wonder avatars of Paul Blart and Anime cartoons thrive on buying face wash and cleaner, but mostly just spend their entire existence debating over which coupon code works, so they can just order useless shit that doesn't mean a goddamn thing to anyone but them and their pointless lives. Seriously, I thought my life was fucked up, but it's actually doing pretty good when compared to slaves like them.

Seriously people, do you really think Aristotle was killed defending his beliefs just so years later some worm bought their good name and turned it into a shopping mall? Would Nietzsche have spent his entire life in controversy so you would have the privilege to spend your credit card to try and look 20 years younger?
Before George Carlin died, he had a lot to say about trash like these people who both run and support sites like that. Personally, I think we're all doomed. Evolution is VERY slow, and there will always be those trying to set mankind back.

How To Replace Your Cellphone: The Easy, Cheap and Efficient Way!

2009-05-27T19:50:00.000-07:00
If you're like me, you're sick of cellphones. If you have no job, a tight budget, then you really should pay attention to this one.
You hate being bugged while driving, you hate the monthly $60.00+ a month for the privilege of getting a barely-audible call from a telemarketer that gets dropped because your service sucks. You also have it set it in your mind that owning a cellphone is a "bare necessity", and don't seem to remember that there was a time not too long ago that cellphones were far from necessary. Shit, back in the 80s when they first came out, they ran about a dollar+ a minute and only the smug owned them as a way to show off. How quickly we forget.

I'm here to help you. Here's what you will need:
1. A Netbook laptop (These are about 2.5 pounds in weight, think of them as a slimmed-down laptop for half the cost. This will run you about 250 bucks, a great investment considering you wont have to hammer out 70 bucks a month anymore). Make sure it comes with wireless, a decent size harddrive and a monitor about 10 inches big. I can send you some links if you need.
2. A Cheap Landline (10 bucks a month)
3. Voicemail on your landline.
4. A Pre-paid cellphone - Put 10 dollars on it and then throw it in your glovebox/purse/desk. Forget about it until one of your loved ones is either engulfed in flames and needs the fire department to throw water on them or has fallen and can't get up. Do not even think of using it unless its a dire emergency. You'll notice that you might have to use it once every six months, this is because the majority of cellphone calls are made socially and are not of any importance.

People: Life existed before cellphones, and we were a lot happier and felt less tied-down before it. We just can't accept the fact that having a cellphone is the lazy (And expensive) way to getting things done. How many car accidents occur every year due to cellphone distractions? Too many, in fact it got so bad here in California that we banned it for anyone under 18 and adults have to wear a really gaudy-looking device shoved in their ear. This doesn't change the fact that you can still have an accident because our minds can only be preoccupied by one major thing at a time, but it will make you look like a jerk and people will think you have schizophrenia if they can't see the device, and will assume you're making another deal with the devil in your mind.

This will take you some time to adjust, depending on how needy you've become to paying more to talk to someone then having digital phone Plus internet Plus tv in your home.
Use your netbook's wireless internet advantage and text your friends using instant messaging. Most of your buddies have instant messaging on their phone, its all the same to them. Keep in mind that a netbook is less than 3 pounds and has the advantage of being a full-fledged computer. While you're at it, set up your house to have wireless internet too, a router will cost you roughly 20 dollars and will more then serve its purpose. When you're away from home, use a wireless network in the area - Coffee shops and other places have them for free.

Set up your Voicemail on your landline phone - Remember: You can check your voicemail from any phone while away, you just have to remember your phone number and pin. You can either check it from work for nothing, hit a payphone for 50 cents, or use your friend's phone. This is not a major inconvenience, you will adjust to it, promise. If I can do it, you can do it.

Post any questions you might have, remember that it is entirely possible to wean yourself off of high phone bills and the false convenience factor that cellphone providers use to their advantage. Over time, I personally guarantee your life will be less stressful. You won't be bugged all hours of the day, you won't feel obligated to text your friends about nothing, and your vapid ringtone won't drive everyone around you crazy.
See ya next time!

Oddly Enough!

2009-05-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

This was on a survey for a health care agency that we noticed. So whether you're a hermaphrodite, from a distant planet, or a John Travolta fan, rest assured that there is a survey out there that caters to your interests :)

If You Pay People To Be Poor, You'll Never Run Out Of Poor People.

2009-04-21T18:39:00.000-07:00
This turned up today, I thought this was informative:

"Poverty is not simply an absence of money. Rather, it is bound up with a whole set of other circumstances: lack of qualifications, demoralisation, family break-up, substance abuse, fatherlessness. It follows that you do not end poverty by giving money to the poor: a theory that British welfarism has amply demonstrated over 60 years. Only when you tackle poverty holistically will you facilitate meaningful improvement."

It's just a fact of life that people who are born to rich and/or well-adjusted, fit parents will typically themselves become rich and/or well-adjusted, a common example of the Nurture factor. At my doctors office I volunteer at, I asked a lot of the clients how many of them were abused/molested/mistreated, and wouldn't you know it, 9/10 admitted that there had been problems from a very young age. Coincidence? I dont think so.

Things The Internet Have Just Ruined Forever

2009-04-11T07:52:00.000-07:00
You know, I really want to feel sorry for some people who worked all their lives and spent a huge investment in school so they could make the world better for everyone. But such is life, and life is about competing. There are those who just want to come along and shit all over everything. This is an overdue list of those people. I'm leaving My personal opinion out of this, for the most part.

Journalism

Long gone are the days where you have to buy a newspaper or turn on the tv at night to hear about what's wrong with this country. These days, both legitimate and illegitimate news sites pop up by the day to fill the void that only something like cnn and the new york times could fill. In fact, the problem has gotten so bad that the los angeles times filed for bankruptcy in 2008, once a leading source of information. Add insult to injury, sites of bloggers spreading rumors and those conspiracy theorists we only saw standing near the freeway now pollute our internet. It's no wonder the media looks at us like we're somehow evil, we are! We are all undermining
what was once quality journalism and turning it into a cesspool of shit. And magazines? Forget it, what they print is outdated and what we already read last week. Remember those photos of britney showing her vagina?
The news can print it, but they can't show the actual photos, which leads me to believe that even the news isn't safe for kids. Not that I believe in censorship, but you have to draw the line at what kids are able to see and hear.

Entertainment

Remember the days of seeing a movie in the theater, or buying a new cd and just taking off that cellophane wrapper? Yeah, the problem was it costed too much money..And by too much money, I mean any money. When Napster came on the scene then got shut down, it's been a headache for the companies ever since..In their opinions, anyway. More networks showed up that didn't require anything other then the peers to run it, and it's only gotten worse (Or better, if that's your opinion). With sites like the pirate bay and networks like usenet and direct connect, anything you desire is only a click away and requires no trip to the store and no standing in line to see a movie in a noisy theater. The problem with file sharing is it gives the industry something to blame when things don't exactly turn out in their favor, that's it. And we all have to hear about it and use it for entertainment later on. Recently, the new x-men movie was put online a month before it even got released in theaters, and the internet has been in a huge uproar about this, the most recent scandal is that a fox employee reviewed the movie online and got fired for it..For shame, but I don't personally care.
Is nothing sacred anymore? If it's digital, the answer is a huge "NO".

Dating/Socializing

There was once a time that if you wanted to meet someone, you had to do it in person. In a bar, at work, behind the liquor store. I know, strange concept right? If you
agree with me on that, then you're most likely a part of the problem. Back in the day, we had to actually talk to people and get to know them on a personal level. You know, meet someone in school or at work, take them out on dates and show them a good time.
Well you can kiss that all goodbye!! If you want to meet a woman these days, you'll have to compete against several other guys who are trying to do the same thing with the same person you want to get to know. I blame the corrupt business practices of Myspace, Match and Eharmony (Which are both openly advertised on tv) and the all-too-well-known, perverted and morally questionable Craigslist. Honestly guys, if you want to know why you're single, this is probably the answer you've been looking for. Either that or you're just a loser. And just so we're on the same level, I'm also single and I feel this is the worst part of the internet that's hit me the hardest.

Writing Letters

This also falls into the same category as dating and making friends, but deserves its own mention. If you wanted to meet someone (Like a penpal or a girlfriend living god knows where) you'd have to write them a hand-written letter and put a stamp on it, then wait about a week for a reply. But getting those letters once a week were just like Christmas! It was the coolest thing ever, getting something a couple of pages long written by someone who really wants you to read it!
You can flush that idea right down the fucking toilet, thanks again to the internet. If you are lucky enough to win in the never-ending competition against men to find a girlfriend and she does agree to write you back, all you have to do these days is send a goddamn email. No paper and no pen required, just an email address with an @ sign in it. They're just so impersonal! Maybe I'm getting old (And I am!) but I miss this little highlight of the week, and I didn't take it for granted when I had it either.

Employment Seeking

You remember when you looked through a newspaper or actually drove to the company and met them in person to ask them if they have a job for you? Getting all dressed up and meeting them before you even gave them a resume, looking at them and actually smiling for a change? Yeah, me too. In fact, I'm unemployed and on disability, but I remember it still.
Because of the internet, you are now just another person typing on one end of the computer and your resume is most likely dogshit..And rest assured, you have a LOT of competition vying against you. That's right, worthless job sites like Monster.com have just decided to come in and piss all over everything. I remember in the news a few months back, a company posted a 20 hour a week temp job doing something like secretary work, right? It got so bad (Partially due to the economy, I'll give you that one) that the company recieved several Thousand emails within a week. Just for a temp job, not even a full time one. Yeah, its that bad. If we didn't have the internet in an example like that, it would have gone to the person who actually heard about it, showed up and applied and looked presentable. This job probably went to the youngest woman with the best looking body -Or- the one with the most experience on their resume, despite the fact that it's a menial job. Pointless right? Yeah, I thought so too. Moving on. Wait no, I have one other story to give before moving on..
A few months back, Monster sponsored a job fair in my area, right? They advertised it in the normal places that monster does. I was at that job fair. You know how many people showed up? I don't have an exact number or even a close figure (It was that big), but the waiting time was about two hours. The line from start to end was two hours long. EVERYBODY showed up. You know how many businesses there were? About five, maybe ten. One was an amway thing, one was a temp agency...You get the idea. Heh, in fact, while I was waiting in line to get to the room with the businesses, the amway thing was actually in line..And uh, it looked depressing. At any given moment, there was a crowd just fighting to be next. It looked like the great depression, to be honest.

Privacy

Ok, this is the Only one open to debate, and again I blame social networking sites. But only to a certain extent, this one is more about personal responsibility.
These days, we take our privacy for granted, without a doubt. However, it is only because we do so that we have become victims of this problem. It is a HUGE problem on the internet that people are voluntarily posting their personal information online for anyone to see, regardless of how old they are. And people seem just fine with that, thinking it might only make them more popular, or whatever reason was on their mind that day.
People: DO NOT post your private information in a public place, even a private place!! Anyone can, and will, see that. Criminals thrive on this, and perverts will only use it for questionable means. That includes taking photos of you at the bar during wednesday when you called out sick from work that day then posting them on your myspace, hoping for a few laughs among your buddies. People get fired for doing this every single day.
Just because websites enable privacy options does not mean your information and photos are private. One good example is that myspace's privacy mode was flawed for a year and anyone who knew better knew exactly how to get around it. They came under a lot of fire for that one, and didn't get around to fixing it for a very long time. Once again: Protect Your Privacy, hm?

SMS (Simple Media System) And ULaunchelf Skins for PS2

2009-03-14T00:43:00.000-07:00
I've decided that there just isn't a good, reliable site out there for SMS skins..Most likely due to the fact that the homebrew community moved on. Anyways, I'll be posting whatever skins I make (that means no one else made them!)

Most Recent At the bottom!

Set #1 (SMS) Download: HERE

Set #1 (ULE): Download HERE

"Biohazard" Sucks, Hey Fuck You Evan!!

2009-03-02T19:44:00.000-08:00
It's amazing what an ego can do to someone's mental stability. These people REALLY piss me off, but this guy especially only because I used to be seriously into his music.
What was once a decent band with a cool sound, now just a group of sell-outs and greedy dirtbags looking for money.
The main problem with Biohazard is their stick-in-the-mud once-was singer, Evan Seinfeld. He's complete filth and nothing but a phony. This douche bag turned into a complete snotnose rockstar after his music stopped selling and he (get this) married some trailer trash porn star who he just hangs onto for the status benefits.
Here's the formula, according to him:
1. Make good music, keep fans happy. Carry this on for a couple of years.
2. Lose appeal, stop selling records. "I'm angry, the world owes me, pay attention to me!"
3. Do a bunch of cheap cameo appearances on tv, one example being the worst prison show ever, "Oz".
4. Meet and marry some dumpy pornstar named "Tera Patrick", get into the industry, and start a company with her called "Teravision", now the whole world can see these two sleazebags doing each other and themselves. The world doesn't want to see his penis, and his wife has a cooze like an outhouse. The world meets "Spyder Jonez", "hardcore pornstar" for life. Yawn.
5. Post an infuriating message that would be both a felony and a double-standard in real life, vowing to "Kick the shit out of people who steal my music. Steal from Microsoft, but don't steal from me." He develops a mental illness that he's somehow a moral person and we should all buy into his trash, despite being self-proclaimed as a "Sexual deviant pervert".

In between all of his escapades, he managed to shave his head bald, get even more atrocious tattoos then ever before, and further alienate his audience by just more of the same shit every day.

You're gonna laugh at this, but here's the story of him completely burning his last bridges with his fans. There's a guy who seriously needs an attitude adjustment.

The latest news is that he and his skanky wife are writing an autobiography together called "Rockstar/PornStar". Original eh? I hope this fucking loser gets Syphilis..

This man and the people he associates with are exactly what's wrong with this world. People like him need counseling, they need medication, and they need to learn some responsibilty. Stop being whores, grow up, act like mature adults, and be serious for a change.
If you have any of his cds, burn them or just throw them away. Evan if you're reading this: You Suck, it won't last forever you phony!!!

Should Cannabis Be Legal? A Collection of Science-Related And Economically Concerned Links ONLY!

2009-02-14T17:09:00.000-08:00
Note: I do not use medical (Or otherwise) cannabis, even though legal in the State of California (And 12 other states). I am only here to present the facts of the current state of the politics and science behind medical marijuana. Please do not email or post off-color comments, they will not be approved and I will not respond. I wanted to give Cannabis an honest look into the benefits, both medically and economically. All claims have sources to credible news sources and medical/scientific journals. In order to be prescribed Medical Cannabis, please consult professional advice. Thank you!

Marijuana Fights MRSA, a deadly antibiotic-resistant form of staph. I've had MRSA in the past and it's very painful and difficult to fight.
Link 1
Link 2

Marijuana's Benefits Outweigh Anti-Depressants for Those Suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:
Link

Marijuana Slows Cancer Growth (Fox News):
Link

Lung Cancer Tumor Growth Cut In Half By Marijuana:
Link

President Obama Opposes Medical Marijuana Raids, When Legal By State Law:
Link

Michigan Becomes 13th State to Legalize Medical Cannabis, voted 60/40 In Favor:
Link

Science Of Cannabis (Very long article, all linked to professional sources):
Link

Supreme Court Rules in Favor Of California:
Link

Medical Cannabis: Big Industry in California (Video):
Link

Scientific Article - Cannabis May Cause New Cell Growth (Journal Of Clinical Investigation):
Link

Summary of 2008 Ballots - 9/10 Passed:
Link

Cannabis Legalization Top of the List of Questions for President-Elect Obama, #1 Concern Among Voters:
Link

Wacky Conspiracy Theories About Disney Movies

2009-02-09T23:21:00.000-08:00
Believe it or not, some people still have no idea these exist. I'm bored and obviously you are too. Enough of the foreplay, let's get to it. Everything listed here has the current status of said questionable content plus whatever proof is available.

The Rescuers: X-Rated 2-Frame Scene.
Status: 100% True, proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Proof: (Click the image for a bigger view)

This one was not known about (Due to how hard it is to see) until Disney made a recall in the 1999 home video version, which sparked the controversy. Since this movie was made in 1977, the flaw has existed for more than 20 years and went unchanged. It it possible that the internet made them confess? Some say it was done to boost sales. Who knows, but what's done is done.

The Little Mermaid: Penis Castle and Priest with a Boner
Status: 100% False!
Collector Value: Shit on a shingle.
Proof: (Click the image for a closeup)

The cover was not made by a disgruntled artist, he didn't even work for Disney. In fact, several people have interviewed him, and he said that he made the poster in the early hours of the morning with a deadline worse then fast food. From the start, the entire castle looks like a penis, but that one point happened to look more like a penis than any other. So from an official standpoint, it's a coincidence.
In the theatrical release artwork and video cassette, the artwork varies a little bit, but in both of them the penis is still visible. What happened was the home video cover was inspired by the promotional artwork, which featured the same penis drawing. It's not completely implausible to have skipped on overlooking that, especially at four in the morning, which the artist claims is when he worked on it.
Some time in the year that the movie was in theaters in 1990, Entertainment Weekly (Of all trashy tabloid rags..) published an article about the cover and some soccer mom decided to bitch about it to Disney and that's what sparked the whole controversy.

Here's how it works:
Theater Art-->Movie in theater-->
Box Art (Based on Theater Art) (Rushed)-->Home Video.-->
Artist Notices Later While Listening to Talk Radio-->Edited Laserdisc

Now, as for the "Priest with a Boner" incident; It was just his knee, and I believe it. It only became a big deal when some fat redneck bitch from Arkansas tried to sue Disney for it. Shame on you! Fortunately, she decided that she didn't want to look like a complete idiot and dropped the suit a few months later. Lets move on.

Aladdin: "Good Teenagers, Take Off Your Clothes!" Sound Rumor
Status: 100% False.
Proof: Here
It's only believable if you're told what to listen for, thanks to religious freaks fueling these shitty rumors..Again. The only "Proof" that the conspiracy theorists have is that the voice in the background is that of an unidentifiable character. Doesn't matter, it could have been poor editing for whatever reason, but it still stands to be a false rumor, due to lack of credibility. Next!

The Lion King: "Sex" In The Clouds Rumor
Status: False. Snopes reports "Undetermined", but anyone who understands logic knows that you need proof beyond reasonable doubt and concrete evidence. Snopes is free to report what they wish, but I say it's false.
Proof:

Neither the "S", The "E", or the "X" are complete letters. It only looks like "Sex" if you are told what to look for, just like the Aladdin incident. Supposedly they make out the abbreviation "SFX", or "Special Effects". But I think it's just a coincidence. Remember that in order for something to be proven, it has to contain everything which the claim states. Sorry, this one is also bullshit.

That's all for now, I think there's a few more but I've been working on this posting for a while and wanted to get it published. If anything else comes up or if someone has a comment, I'll make note of edits and additions.

Lesson In Life: Don't Be A Complete Skank

2009-02-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

I've been talking to this girl for quite some time. She was really flirty and always took it too far. One day though she kinda pissed off and flat out said "No you can't have me, sorry" like it was just another everyday thing for her to say. Here's the last thing I said to her, doing my part to try to restore a little bit of decency to the world:

RiveR: you are just completely full of shit arent you
sensico: actually any ass hole would realize I was kidding
RiveR: too bad, im not an asshole
you really have a thing with ass, dont you?
sensico: lol
hurry it up, whats this all about cause I really dont have time
RiveR: so leave then
im not keeping you
sensico: just, what is this all about?
you seem vindictive
RiveR: well ya kinda screwed me
sensico: no I didnt
RiveR: ya wai
sensico: you just took things too seriously and now you're pissed, which is understandable, but c'mon really
RiveR: :)
sensico: you are obviously playing games
RiveR: just remember the old saying that he who laughs last shall laugh best
sensico: whatever
RiveR: you made me pretty upset that day "Oh no you cant have me..no way"
screw you bitch
sensico: sorry I said it that way
RiveR: next time dont be such a deadbeat
be Courteous
be nice
dont be a complete stuck-up cunt
you didnt fool me
sensico: then why are you acting this way
sorry if you thought I was anything but courteous, or nice
RiveR: dont apologize, just think about who you could be upsetting
sensico: look, you're right
RiveR: ive been screwed about by a couple hundred women...you're just another drop in the bucket
Next time you talk to a guy, BE NICE
theres enough problems in the dating scene already
im just giving you advice to think about someone else but yourself for a change
dont be such a slut
sensico: fine, lesson learned
RiveR: then turn around and drop them
good
you'll thank me later, remember that karma always comes back
sensico: ok, sorry
RiveR: you didnt pull one over on me, ok?
sensico: ok
RiveR: i dont even believe you
you lied before and before that, why should I?
why do you women do those things anyway?
let me tell you something and you better fucking listen
the reason the dating scene is so miserable and the divorce rate is so high is because of people exactly like you
i dont give a flying fuck if you ever grow up
but you cant play the game forever, eventually you'll be too old
:)
sensico: right
RiveR: you're not my type anyway, fyi
sensico: good
RiveR: but you didnt have to be an asshole
sensico: sorry, I didn't realize I was coming off that harsh and now I know
RiveR: you're just cold
plain and simple
flirting is one thing, but you took it too far
sensico: you're right, I did

Psychology Behind "Joe Camel"?

2009-01-29T11:05:00.000-08:00
It's Rorschach time. Here's an old ad, but let's try to figure out why Joe's campaign was pulled after only 10 years. Study this ad for a good five minutes. Write down your impressions. We'll compare notes :)

Here's what I see..

1. The name "Camel Lights" with the blue and white background imply Healthy Cigarette, far safer then regulars. This was the first thing I noticed. Even the pleasant white font of the word "Lights" throws you the hint. However, I see a conflict in one thing: The ad was to imply Light cigarettes, but the image of Joe looks to be a badass. Which is it?
2. It's a retro ad. If you smoke these, you can be just as cool as the outlaws in the 1950s such as James Dean. Notice the pack stuffed in his sleeve? The classic convertible?
3. The smile on the camel's face and the phallic-shaped nose imply that this character was generally marketed towards males.
4. The surgeon generals warning. Read it. It's being directed to Pregnant Women. The ad itself is directed towards men. Big conflict there.
5. The fine print of the nicotine/tar content. It gives you scientific data, rather then plain english as to how many addictive properties are in each cigarette. This is still practiced today, including the fine print.

I can't prove this ad was marketed to underage people, obviously. But Camel's idea of this ad was to target a rebellious audience. Does that include kids? Sure, but it also includes adults. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Joe on that one, but the other five things I noticed are there to stay.

Third (Or Fourth, I lost track) Interview With RePete (Aka Junkyard Willie)

2009-01-20T23:27:00.000-08:00
I just can't seem to forget about this guy, he's managed to drill his way into my head and every few months I pop up and harass him. I'm not bothering to link to the other few I've done, check the archives if you want to read it. Anyway, check this shit out, I need to get my head examined the more I pal around with this dude.

1. Gimme some fucking news, when's your new cd coming out? My blog is almost dried up here and I manage to alienate the people who do visit! The last chick who sent me an email, I wouldn't leave her alone for six weeks!

What new CD? And do people still buy CD's? Do stores actually still carry CD's? What's a CD anyway? Refresh my memory. Honestly I'll probably release a progressive trance CD under the name "Alien Disco Roadkill" before I release a prank call CD. Here's some shit I've been just screwing around with (Not a finished product by any means). Download It Here You Idiot

2. How did you do for dvd sales? (I personally haven't seen it yet, I'm too poor!!)

You're like most people these days in this recession. I have a huge email list of about 15,000 people and so fortunately that generated over 2,000 orders in the 1st month, then the stock market crashed, things slowed way down and DVD distributors got extremely selective about handling new titles. So I'm waiting it out now. I expect many of the smaller distributors will go bankrupt in the coming months / years so it's very dicey to sign with a distributor. For the moment I'm with filmbaby, which is owned by a very stable company called cdbaby. I went through a similar scenario back in 2000 with 2 CD distributors going out of business on me, while skipping out on their tab so I'm very cautious with indie distributors.

3. Any new characters added to your lineup of voices?

I really haven't been serious about making calls since 2001.(Ed: Oh Bullshit, he swore to have a 5th cd the last time I checked his website. We all need to chip in and get this guy a hooker to motivate him, one of those fresh off the boat types, preferably with teeth. Get your fat ass out there and start harassing retirement homes, goddamnit!)

4. Been on the news lately?

Yeah I got arrested for robbing a bank. No actually I have a still a clean record. (Ed: I do too, thank hell!)

5. Is Jim Bob single? He actually kinda turns me on, in a brotherly-sisterly-loving kind of way.

Sorry. Jim Bob is happily married to his sister (Ed: Well shit..)

6. Aren't you getting bored of giving me interviews? It's been over a fucking year now, you'd think I would have gotten a life...

Maybe you can start a prank site like "Mr. Skin" and sell it for a million bucks. Just a thought.

7. You need to get more Old Chicken shirts. This isn't to be debated, just get them. I know most of your fans are big fat XL motherfuckers with 7-11 slurpie stains on their chin, but goddamn it I'm only a medium because of all the meth. You know how it is.

Old Chickens are almost gone for good. Junkyard Willie's Junkyard shirts are the new fashion. People actually really dig the patch. I get asked all the time "What is that? Where can I get one of those?"

As always, you can download his calls, send him milf porn, and give him hate mail at Junkyard Willie

Most Dangerous Drugs: By Category

2009-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00
Most devastating and dangerous drug: Crystal Methamphetamine.

It's the #1 drug that destroys lives, tears family apart, and is generally ignored by the media. Sadly, this is the drug that knows no boundaries, both small town and large cities are being destroyed by the effects of meth. Not by surprise, it also causes permanent brain damage and is the #1 cause of violent crime, more then 30% of all inmates test positive for meth. It's also the biggest cause of psychosis, schizophrenia and the biggest widespread drug (Especially on the west coast) The reason it's so addictive is the first time use, after that you're hooked. Montana meth project seems like the only place who's doing anything about it, Brett King is just an attention whore looking for 15 minutes of fame. Users who find themselves addicted to crystal meth will wish they're dead. Their teeth will fall out, they will commit violent crimes, and they will lose their lives because of this drug. Avoid. Seriously, the world is a fucked up place already, don't make it any worse then it has to be.

#1 cause of Car Accidents, Most Advertised, and Most Misunderstood: Alcohol

Alcohol remains legal, yet is just a straight up killer. People underestimate the reality of drinking due to the availability, but every year people overdose and die in the emergency due to binge drinking. Alcohol is also terribly addictive and can lead to seizures, delerium, and death if you've been drinking for too long and worked up such a big dependence. Learn moderation or don't start to begin with.

Most deadly and addictive: Cigarettes.

Each year, more then one million people will die every year because of smoking. Cigarettes are a trillion dollar a year industry, spearheaded by faceless corporations (Have you ever seen an employee for Camel or Marlboro on tv? Didn't think so). Some states, including California, have banned smoking in public places..Which I think is the wrong idea, due to lack of sufficient evidence that second hand smoke will cause any health problems.

Most Potent, the biggest rush, overall just a really fucked up drug: Angel Dust (PCP)

Ah, Phencyclidine. You're gone and no one misses you. Use this one and you will die a horrible, painful death. That's the reason it hasn't been popular for a long time, but back in the 80s and 90s this was a pretty big thing. All of those addicts are either dead or in mental institutions. No further explanation required.

Worst drug affecting the social scene: Ecstacy

Although not regarded as clinically dangerous due to lack of evidence of causing permanent brain damage, this drug does cause hypothermia and can lead to unsafe sex practice, thereby increasing the risk of disease, including HIV. If you have to take it, stay in a safe place (Maybe out in the woods) with a few trusted friends and bring a lot of water..You'll need it. I always avoided raves, I just never got into it or saw the point..Somethings not right if you can't tell when one song ends and the next one begins. Moving on.

Safest illegal drugs if used under strict doctor regiment and for medical purpose: Marijuana and LSD.

LSD was used to treat schizophrenia back in the 50's and the military even gave it to their own soldiers..But it's been heavily scrutinized as a "Crazy Drug", mostly myths that if you take it you will crash out of a window, so it's not really accepted anymore.
Marijuana is another one too. Proven effective in treating depression, anxiety, glaucoma, chemotherapy, and many states, including mine (California) has made it legal for medical use. Although I don't use it anymore, this is one drug I can see being made completely legal in this lifetime. Who knows, right?

That's all for now :)

Worst Job: High School Janitor

2008-12-08T13:52:00.000-08:00
Ah those days were a blast, weren't they? Well..No. Partially because I never went, but also because it was so miserable. They never taught us anything useful, the only thing I was good at was the spelling bee and algebra. But we did have our fun, which became the only incentive for showing up after the 9th grade. In between skipping class and running into the woods, we had our random acts of vandalism while in the building. Anyways, I might update this post if I remember anything else, but here's what we got so far..

1. Peanut Chews Under The Desk

You know the old "Gum under the desk" routine, this just kicks it up a notch; And it's both more damaging and far more disgusting. You get those really nasty mary-janes or the Goetz' peanut chews (Charleston Chew didn't do the job as efficiently), pass em around and chew em for about 5 minutes. After that we just pulled the whole gob out of our mouths and slapped it under the desk, from there the sugar picked up the slack. Imagine being a janitor back then, having to chisel all the peanut clusters from underneath the desks. I swear it smelled like old spit and looked like a huge collection of snot. Some days we got to alternate our seats and that just led to more peanut attacks from myself and other fellow vandals. Pretty fun to do, not so fun to stick your leg under your desk and find a whole harvest of 6 or 7 just waiting to find a victim.

2. Taking Dumps On The Floor

I know it sounds nasty, and it was. Some nitwits think taking a dump in the urinal is great, but imagine walking into the stall and finding one (or several) that just magically missed the toilet and ended up on the tile floor. Heaven forbid you should slip in it, but get this: One time I had just gotten done making a delivery and not a minute later one of the hall monitors (as useless as they were) came walking in and noticed it. Complained to me and I could obviously care less, being that I was the culprit only made it more funny.
Some of the other kids took it one step further and used the walls for everything from wiping their ass and sticking the toilet paper up there all the way up to smearing "Fuck You (principals name here)!" in shit all over said wall.

3. Littering Porno

Sounds silly, but even back in our day we could get a whole loot of porno and rip em out page by page and just leave em lying around. Whether in class, in the already-victimized bathroom, or even at the library; we just thought porno was a great addition to any educational environment.

4. Stinky Concoction

My friend got this idea that we could take something incredibly nasty that took several months to create and make an awful mess. So we all went shopping with what change stolen from our parents and bought pretty much anything that will turn rancid sitting in a jar for a few months. Don't ask what we made because it's a blur to me now, but it sat around for nearly six months in a thermos. My buddy was the one to dump it out in the school, again it went all over the bathroom..On the floors, the toilets, even the ceiling probably caught some of it. The smell was so bad though, the entire hallway just reeked of something best described as the ass of a fat man that hadn't been washed for a year.

Disclaimer: This is a reminiscing post, NOT ideas for what you or anyone should do. This was over 10 years ago and I'm sure there are worse ideas floating around on the internet. In other words: Don't take this as anything other than a joke.

Order Your Free "Me Not Meth" Shirt!

2008-12-05T11:09:00.000-08:00
Crystal meth is a disease and a plague threatening our very society. Made in bathtubs from things like Lithium, Ether, Cold Medicine, and Anhydrous Ammonia, it hurts everyone who touches it. And the problem is getting worse every day. I've been researching this subject for several years now, and it's time for another shameless plug.

You can order your free "Me Not Meth" shirt by registering HERE (Don't worry, all they ask is your email address) Then click THIS link to submit the form. Limit of two per household.

Please donate to this organization if you have the means to do so. Places like that are majorly underfunded and need your support. Thank you!

CREDIT TO Me Not Meth

Fuck You, I think AIDS Is Hilarious!

2008-12-02T12:32:00.000-08:00
So today I pissed off two, count 'em two, people because I joked about Aids. So what, right? If you're offended by people joking about Aids, it's probably because either you have Aids or someone you know either has or had Aids. With that in mind, if you are offended then you really must have made some bad decisions in life or you should reconsider who you hang out with. Or maybe there's a bigger problem, I'll get to that later.

Anyway, Aids is just a remarkable little bug, ain't it? It took every form of 'precaution' and completely shot it out of the water. The size of a micron of HIV is smaller then that of a condom, so those are no good. And sharing needles? Yeah that's really smart, you can afford the 50 bucks for dope but you can't drag your lazy ass down to the clinic for a clean needle? For shame. Well, evolution takes time, and that's Aids really is. Just a way to clean the garbage off the street and put it where it belongs. But what about blowjobs? Technically HIV doesn't spread by saliva, but it does spread by mouth sores and open wounds. Keep that in mind next time you wanna rent a hooker to use a flashlight and make sure she at least has all her teeth.

But what else is there?

I know a while ago I talked about regulating the porn industry due to how unsafe it really is and the illusion that it's somehow regulated by some doctors office ran by some ex-porn star named Sharon Mitchell that charges on a sliding scale. But in reality, it isn't. The business of porn is fucking for money. And I think that condoms do no good, but only add to the illusion that porn is safe and safe sex means using a condom.

It doesn't though, and HIV is a really really brilliant and intelligent little bugger that came along and completely destroyed the 80's. What happened during the 80's? Obviously if you have to ask, that means you're a part of the problem. When Magic Johnson caught aids, suddenly it became a nationwide health scare..But only for a couple of years. It lasted through the entire decade and by the 90's it was back to business as usual. Is everybody crazy, ignorant, or just plain stupid? My guess is both ignorant and stupid, and I think the education system needs a few updates as to how HIV really passes on. I asked a few random people how they catch Aids, know what they said? Dirty needles and hookers. That's true, but it ain't entirely true. They left out condoms being completely ineffectual and still think blowjobs aren't even sex.

Like I said before, Aids is bigger of a problem now then it was in the 80's only because people are less aware of how big of a problem it is, if that makes sense. Keep in mind that if you sleep with a person who has Aids, there's a chance you will catch it. What you do with it? That becomes everyone's problem. Remember that asshole Spitzer and that hooker he slept with earlier this year? He was the perfect face for how ignorant people really are.

Anyways, I think there's a lot of misconception and stigma about everything from Aids to Drugs, and the only way we'll really nip this problem in the bud is by funding education programs. Then Aids won't be funny, it'll encourage people to think twice before doing that next rail of speed and barebacking on film for some rock.

But for now, I laugh. All those people who caught Aids in the 80's are dead, they're fucking dead. Not that soft, I'll-die-in-my-sleep kind of death either. A long, agonizing, bleeding from every orifice and begging to be shot kind of death. I laugh because people thought they were safe and it was cool to be ignorant and live for the moment. That's the price you pay when you dance with the devil, you take the good with the bad.

Funny Story About Car Alarms..

2008-11-22T17:15:00.000-08:00
One of the other noodleheads over on BC told me a pretty funny anecdote about her experience with car alarms. I gotta be honest too, I thought she was like a vengeful god with hair made out of snakes, even some of the other people I spoke to were like "Yeah, she's weird..She even gets to oversee the entire site". I was trying to get naked photos of her, but I kinda gave myself away a little too quickly and she told me to buzz off.
Anyway, here's her little story:

Envision a very small ferry transporting cars & people to a very small island. Envision the locals standing on the deck & sitting in the passenger lounges with their car doors unlocked. Next envision the tourists who lock their cars & set their alarms. The ferry bounces on the waves & the cars move slightly back & forth. The people walking by when this happens reach out to steady themselves on the cars & the alarm goes off. The idiots who set the alarm are at the far end of the boat while it screeches away & they have to be located to turn the damn things off. So here's the question. Why lock the car & set the alarm? Who the frack can drive a car off a ferry over the ramp and across the ocean to the other side? Even if you leave your keys in the ignition as locals do no one can steal the car while it's on the ferry ... DUH. You have just described at ship at sea with lights blinking & alarms screeching that has become a navigational hazard. :P

That's a really good question. The answer is quite simple though: They don't do it so no one will steal it. They just do it because it's a status symbol. Over here in the states, our penis envy is SUV's. Seriously, everyone swears up and down to own at least one SUV. The people with really big penises drive Hummers, and no they don't dont give what the name implies, it's just a fancy freudian concept so that people will buy them. Anyways, thanks for writing :)

Credits: Timethief

Car Alarms And Cell Phones Are Junk

2008-11-19T14:53:00.000-08:00
My opinion is that car alarms just serve as a false sense of security and nothing more than a mere annoyance to both those who have to tolerate them and the actual owners of car alarms. Cell phones are even more of an annoyance and a complete waste of money. What they have in common is that they share the same concept. Check this out:

It all took off about 10 years ago, car alarms were expensive and a newfound technology. If it's anything that we love, its something that buzzes, beeps or whistles. 20 years ago, cellphones were expensive, clunky, ugly, and cost five dollars a minute to use. Rules of technology state that as time drags on, it becomes cheaper to produce said electronics. It doesn't matter if they worked or not, all that matters is making a buck and being the first on your block to own a new expensive gadget. Problem is that they become less efficient over time, and technology has to make further upgrades to be able to shine in the open market.

That's exactly the problem with phones. The phone was originally invented almost 150 years ago, and very little has changed with it. Regarding sound quality and efficiency, it's just as lousy now as it was back then.

Feel like an idiot knowing that you're "Stuck in the 1870's?" yet, shelling out all that money? You should be. All they did was took a perfectly good turd, polished it and spray painted it gold then resold it over and over. The telephone was a bad idea to begin with, with all those phone poles and poor sound quality, we don't even know who first invented the damn thing. All they did was throw in more useless bells and whistles. If you prefer shelling out 60-100 bucks a month just for the privilege of cyber-texting a fuckbuddy and making your own obscene ringtones, then you're obviously in the right place.

And who can possibly say that they don't get annoyed when you're in the elevator or riding the bus and the jerkoff next to you has to sound off his evening shopping list to his pig of a wife for the 67th time because the other 66 calls got dropped due to "Technical Difficulties" (According to customer service, assuming you can reach them when called. That's one area of technological advance that will never happen.)

Now, as for car alarms. (Bear with me, this is a compare and contrast..I'm getting to it.) I used to understand the concept, broken down into a few steps:
1. "X" tries to break into your car to steal the diaphragm out of your glove box and your collection of country music cds.
2. Car alarm rings off, the lights start flashing.
3. "X" gets scared and runs off.

This used to be a valid argument, but over time it got watered down because everyone bought into the same concept. The problems that developed to nullify that were these:
1. 99% of the time, it's a malfunction. This turned into a major problem which led to the impulse of the public not paying attention to them anymore. That was the idea, right? To have an alarm sound off so it would attract others' attention.
2. Car alarm rings, everyone inside (Assuming they can hear it) thinks it's their car. Big distraction because people can't tell if that alarm is theirs or someone else's. They usually start relying on the flashing taillights and even more goofy shit like the window wipers flailing back and forth.

And the final reason: When car alarms were new, very few thieves knew how to deactivate them. Being that technology gets cheaper, so does the expertise put into them. On any given street in my neighborhood, there's a handful of car alarm installers working for next to nothing, you really think they're smarter than the thieves? Well, whatever. The industry tried to adjust by installing more bells and whistles like kill switches and even air bag inflaters (wtf?) Some of you might remember, and Carlin covered this, that they used to have "Verbal Warning" car alarms. The idea was simple: You walk too close to a car, the car alarm tells you to piss off. Didn't work, and it only led to keys being used to scratch new lines into their cars for doing so.

So, car alarms only serve as a way for car dealers to make more money (And we all know that car salesmen are just Such Honest People only looking to make a living, right? And the only way cell phones can improve is by adding useless shit like pizza delivery texting and political rantings by assholes like us....Oh wait, they already have that. Nevermind.

But the point I'm making is that both are remarketed from outdated technology with no serious improvements or upgrades. Cell phones sound horrible, Car Alarms do nothing to stop theft, and there's absolutely zero chance of improving these because we ate it all up too fast. I didn't even bother mentioning the number of fatalities caused by traffic accidents related to cell phone use, but California recently passed the law of requiring hands-free use. Did it work? Not really, the fine is a simple 50 dollars and this just falls under the rule of speeding: "As long as everyone does it, I won't get caught".

I wish some people would just grow up.

Shameless Plug: Photo Site

2008-10-29T12:11:00.000-07:00
Been pre-occupied with a few small projects lately, but here's a preview of my photo site. If you want visit, try this link

Classic Complaints: SMC

2008-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00
James Writes:

" The truth about Specialty Merchandise Corporation, SMC. Number one: You can not sell SMC products for up to 3 times the value, or 300%, as SMC claims on their infomercials because there are hundreds and hundreds of other SMC suckers already trying to sell it on the internet, in flea markets, to friends, and the list goes on and on. Tom Bosley is a lying motherfucker on the SMC infomercial. Linda Levine is a lying bitch on the SMC infomercial. Kerry Cox is a lying motherfucker on the SMC infomercial. Attention lawyers and attorneys: Want to make some serious dough? Get a class action law suit going against the Speciality Merchandise Corporation, in Chatsworth, California. You could make large sums of $$$ by taking these motherfuckers at SMC to Federal Court for a multitude of charges. Attention viewers of the "Speciality Merchandise Corporation, SMC, infomercials: You can not make "thousands" like that sack of pig-shit Tom Bosley says on the SMC infomercial. In fact, you will end up paying lots of money to SMC. The "low start-up" fee of $25-29 is just the sucker game they pull on you. Once SMC gets your credit card info, watch out! SMC will suck every dime you have from any account you have. The "SMC coaches" are just a motley crew of fat bitches and old stick-in-the-mud has-been old guys that don't know the difference between their assholes and donuts. Linda Levine is the daughter of the only man to ever have any pride or dignity in the SMC company. Only thing is though, Linda Levine is a lying greedy sack-of-shit liar! Kerry Cox is the filty hair-ball in charge of "marketing." This dickhead would sell out his own mother for a few bucks! Don't forget: Tom Bosley, the old fuck that he is, and long-time loser, is the very worst of the bunch at SMC. Tom Bosley is a lying sack-of-shit motherfucker! Fuck you Tom Bosley! You're such a cockmuncher! Finally, remember this: SMC does infomercials to keep new suckers coming in! Why, you ask? Because there are hundreds and hundreds of SMC members already trying to sell SMC products on the internet, and swap meets. These SMC members that are already out there are competing like dogs over bones for sales. So, when this bitch Linda Levine says you can buy a product for, let's say, $6.24, and sell it for $35.50, you can be sure this bitch is lying through her teeth. Want to know why you can't sell it for $35.50? Because there are hundreds of other SMC members trying to sell the same fucking thing for $6.50 to make a 26 cent profit. Think of it this way: Do you think SMC gives a fuck about their members? Well, they don't. If SMC cared about the thousands of members they already have, then they wouldn't keep trying to fuck their members by these non-stop informercials trying to recruit new suckers! Bottom Line: Fuck you, Tom Bosley! Fuck you, Linda Levine! Fuck you, Kerry Cox! And, Fuck you SMC!"

James, where ever you are. Please, just don't watch tv anymore :)

The Roadmap Says "Down", And That's Where They Are. Right Down In The Dumps.

2008-08-12T21:38:00.000-07:00
Those wonderful, original displays of art on the lower back of the female. Tramp stamps, Arse Antlers, Roadmaps, Railroad Tracks; Whatever the name you prefer. If you order a callgirl off the internet, the only sure way to know that she's professional is if she wears the badge of honor. Feel free to make note of that; Last time I checked, prostitution is still the worlds oldest occupation.

Butterflies, Unicorns, Fairies. Tribal Designs, Chinese Symbols, Their own name or even a Sunflower. If you're a female between the ages of 18-45, drink, have friends, and sleep with more than one guy a year, there's a 20% chance you fell victim to this problem (I know. Forgive them father, they know not what they do..).

Outside during the grand opening of "The Body Shop" in Atlanta, Georgia. Husbands' credit card in hand, drivers license left out in the car.

Just like every other fad, this one has trivial origins that really don't require more than three sentences to explain. The idea of getting a tattoo on the lower back originally started in the late 90's, but the frowned-upon attitudes didn't really take notice until 2005 with the movie "Wedding Crashers". The name 'Tramp Stamp' just kinda stuck, and the attitude followed suit; Depending on what team you rooted for. For example: If a girl with a tramp-stamp dumped you (Very likely), then you were on board with the haters. And if you had a back tattoo and you hanged out with the wrong crowd, you were "To be avoided". Remember the talk about "Having the mark"? Well, this is just another example. But, similar people tend to congregate with other similar people, Which inevitably waters down the idea of having a skidmark to begin with (What, you actually thought this was something unique?). I sure wouldn't want to be at a party with nothing but 40 girls, drunk and all sporting predictable tattoos. What ever happened to originality? Shit, I'd rather date a girl with a tattoo on her forehead that says "I suck great dick" as opposed to one of these skanks.

(Loves god in her own original way. The guy who saw it up close and personal that night obviously does too.)

Anyway, the old belief was that if you wanted to get laid, just pick up a girl who smokes. Sure, it didn't guarantee anything; but your chances were always significantly higher this way. It's not a bad thing, but keep in mind that whether you're eating pussy or taking a shit, sometimes you just can't help but wonder who was there before you. It's safe to assume that if you take your chances with a back-marked harlot, that's a lot of toilets you could be licking. If mouthwash companies could cash in on that fear, oh boy would they be rich.

I think the real significance has to do with either straight-up anal sex, or just plain doggy style. The "Official" definition follows with "It emphasizes the curves of a woman", I think that's a bunch of shit though. When you're meeting that woman for the first time, at the very least just make sure her knees don't have any bruises on them, or you could be in for a night of..(Sex on a tiled floor? I guess.)

(Isn't that sweet? Making a wholesome, warm-hearted statement with intentions only a condom can protect.)

Any keyword search for "Lower back tattoo" results in enough pictures of women drinking Smirnoff Ice and bending over in their butt-floss while getting dry-humped by a frat boy (I bet their parents must be proud). The chances are those women don't even recall that night, partially due to being shitfaced, but also because the next night was just like the night before. There's even a few pictures of Crosses (I'm sure it has the official seal-of-approval from Jesus himself..); and there's just as many Myspace Models (Aka: Attention Whores) posing suggestively in black and white photos. But whether they're in their underwear or in their work uniforms, the idea is the same no matter how you look at it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for acceptance and wanting to be cool. But this? I just don't get it. I wish I did too, I wish I could honestly grasp the concept of "Get an identical tattoo that the other bimbos have and live with it because it's hip"; but no. The GOOD news is that it's a permanent mark of who to avoid. Seriously, these women might be able to lie about how many guys they sleep with every week and "That sore on my upper lip is just a zit"; But they can't hide this, doesn't matter what they wear or what excuse they spit out. If they have a skidmark, it will show that 'high quality' personal image they strive to maintain (What, you didn't hear about the surgeon or the psychiatrist who's proud of her Tribal Butterfly? No, I didn't either; I must have been distracted by the Girls Gone Wild and Extenze Infomercials. I'll pay attention next time.)

Like the Peacock showing its feathers or the Lot Lizard advertising over the CB, so to do these women have their own way of attracting their mate. The thing all three of those have in common is that they all follow the same pattern, never seeing a reason to explore other avenues. Oh well, I guess life could be worse :)

EDIT: If that article didn't make you puke, even Toys R Us doesn't see a problem with any of this.

Most Productive (And Best Looking) Women Of 2008

2008-08-07T22:35:00.000-07:00
Finally, some quality over quantity! Nothing speaks to me better than a famous woman who can still prove they really are the superior of the two! I did this sort of thing last year, I'm not including any of them. So pay attention, you might learn something about how REAL women do things in the world and still maintain a celebrity status!

#1. Rachael Ray!

Who doesn't love a woman who can make cooking really fun? Anyways, she won an Emmy for her show just a few months ago, and she's still all over the Food Network. If you haven't learned anything from this woman, you suck! I've never heard her say anything ludicrous or just plain stupid, so I have no complaints. Lets move on.

#2. Alexandra Kosteniuk!

Ah, those Europeans are such a smart bunch! You'd think they would have more popularity after Monty Python, but no. As of last month, Grandmaster Alexandria was awarded the title of World Chess Champion because she beat the old one and we have the pictures to prove it. To put it another way: Do not fuck with this woman, she is every bit as good looking as she is smart. She will, I repeat, she will pull your heart out, stomp on it, then keep walking like you mean nothing. Check out her website and learn a thing or two about higher intelligence!

#3. Blythe Auffarth!

Who is Blythe Auffarth? Well, she's The Girl Next Door..Literally. In 2007, she starred in the most horrifying, yet educational movie I have ever seen by the same name. A while back, a man named Jack Ketchum wrote what is still hailed to the be the most controversial novel of all time called 'The Girl Next Door'. For years, the book was next to impossible to find until it was republished. The author never thought it was be made into a movie due to its extremely disturbing content. Anyway, many years and headaches later, the movie came out and it upset more people then it astonished; with good reason too. Fortunately, Ketchum and I have one mutual interest: We both hate sociopaths, with a passion. I instantly became a fan. Blythe Auffarth, this one is for you.

#4. Roxanne Pallet!

Besides being eye candy, from what I've read she's actually incredibly nice. This month, she agreed to lead a campaign for women's rights to end domestic abuse. Other than being a soap opera actress, she's still very much unknown and really deserves a break. Good luck!

#5. Ricki Lake!

Oh I know what you're thinking: "Ricki Lake? That bimbo with the talk show?" Yeah, that same 'bimbo' who used to weigh 260 pounds and went down to 120. Also another victim of abuse, she proved to herself and everyone else that she was worth a damn and managed to get back on her feet. Good for you Ricki, I haven't forgotten about you. I look forward to seeing you on tv.

That's it! Congrats to you five, Women Rock!

Pornography Needs Regulation - An Argument

2008-07-24T22:17:00.000-07:00
(Authors Note: I spent far more time researching for this school paper than I wanted to, but it was fun and well worth it; even learned a few things along the way. I haven't received the grade for it yet, and it's not that important. Anyways, The idea to keep in mind is that I'm not against pornography, I'm against the disregard for safety to protect the workers. Everyone deserves the right to safety, regardless of their professional choices. I'd like to thank my college professor for everything. Enjoy.)

During the year of 2004, there was an HIV infection epidemic. The original quarantine list of the maximum second generation suspects included over forty people. The elapsed time that passed was less than one week, originating from the positive test results of one person; this in turn led to a domino effect that turned an entirely unregulated industry to beg on its' knees for the truth. The truth the industry wanted was the list of positively identified victims. The truth the public wanted was strict safety and regulation expectations to be fulfilled. Two conflicting interests in two different worlds.

The history of pornography in printed media dates to the beginning of 1900 originally. With technological advances, the door opens to more advanced medium and means of distribution. There are those who claim the VHS and DVD formats became popular due to the sales of pornography, the accepted support is that Betamax disallowed the content; leading to a failed format. When pornography was restricted to adult theaters and projectors, it led to local obscenity charges and jail sentencing for some; it was easy to control because it was not wide-spread or easy to acquire. Movies such as “Deep Throat” reached mainstream attention, but also led to several arrests and jail sentences due to obscenity law. When VHS legitimized, adult theaters became a thing of the past and pornography became more popular than ever. Suddenly, those who were afraid of adult theaters could privately view whatever they wished in their home; this is said to be a landmark in the proliferation of sales.

From there, people were graduating film school and dedicating their lives to the production of pornography. Competition is fierce, due to the low budget required and high profit volume. What was once restricted to questionable financing has since become a dream come true for anyone who wishes to produce pornography; budgets ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

Unfortunately, pornography is not a safe industry; due to the nature of the business and the quick money it promises. The accepted, and rarely contradicted opinion of pornography, is that it is a business. Many industries have health codes and regulations, even ethical standards are appreciated. Pornography is not one of them. Pornography is a business with high-turnover and low morale, the pay is secondary to the fringe benefits many actors seek out.

Males act in pornographic films primarily because their dream to have sex and be paid for it outweighs the concern for safety and financial security. They typically earn between one hundred and one thousand dollars per scene, due to the reality of supply and demand and intangible benefits. They live off of the reckless, impulsive appeal; rather then accept the damaging economical an unethical reputation behind it. This is direct manipulation by an industry that is not concerned about the rights of these men.

Females act in pornographic films for any number of debated reasons, the most popular being the money and ease of work. Females can earn anywhere from one hundred to three thousand dollars per scene, depending on their popularity and what they are willing to do. The controversy in the adult industry is the life of the female star is short and easily replaced. When a female first enters the industry, they are paid more because they are not well known and fresh for the camera. The female is tolerated by what she will and will not do; essentially allowed to call the shots. Over time, the appeal falls short and work becomes hard to find. Her agency may discontinue a business relationship if the demand falls. The reasons for this vary, but the production companies seeking talent may already be familiar with the female; the result is the market value and popularity of their acting may be lower than when they first began. At that point in time, the female may take one of several different paths to accept this. The worse case is they may develop a drug habit and decide to perform in a more dangerous way than when they first started; resorting to street prostitution is not uncommon either. This in turn can lead to an increased risk for disease. The reality is the female has been exploited by an industry concerned only with income and sex appeal, without regards to moralist value.

The formula is that money is an expendable asset, production costs are low, and demand is variable. This in turn leads to a popular industry with high appeal and fierce competition. But safety needs to be assured; there needs to be rules and there needs to be health codes in a vulnerable industry. With profit estimated to be higher then each previous year and more product than mainstream film, a lot of lives are at risk with the door being open to danger. It needs to be shut.

The estimated profit margins place pornography earning roughly two billion dollars a year. It is fairly easy to see that safety and regulation could be construed as damaging to an industry so easily formed and highly exploitable. However, that opinion is one-sided and typically reserved for those who work in the adult industry. The people with the deepest concern would be those who fear to lose the most.

Their most common argument is that condom requirements are damaging to sales. Vivid and Wicked are the two companies that require condom use because they want to be accepted as a safe and caring business. Both have seen sales damaged for their policies and practice, but view safety and welfare above monetary gain. CEO of Vivid, Stephen Hirsch, has openly admitted to having a genuine concern for the safety of all and is willing to sacrifice profit for such a thing. If the rest of the pornography industry voluntarily adopted the same standard, the market would adjust and sales would not be affected; due to there being no other option. However, business is run by majority rule, and this is unfortunately the nature of things.

HIV is the biggest threat to the sex industry. However, this is viewed as a contradiction by the fact that condom use is rare and people are aware that testing has its flaws. And in an industry where sex is work, all it takes is one incident to turn an entire industry upside-down.

In 2004, it was announced that actor Darren James tested positive for HIV. This in turn became a snowball effect, and led to suspecting a technically unknown number of others; which led to the positive test results for four others. This all happened within one week, the industry was completely damaged overnight.

There were nineteen people announced on the first generation list of those who worked Darren James, who was proven to be the original host of the epidemic. Of that nineteen, four tested positive. Although there were zero positive results from the second generation of suspects, thirty seven people were on an unofficial quarantine. Due to the suspected epidemic, several companies agreed to a sixty day moratorium; but the agreement was changed to thirty days when the facts and evidence were presented earlier then estimated.

It is believed that Darren James, a long-standing actor in the pornographic industry, originally contracted HIV from a movie filmed in Brazil, where testing requirements may differ from those in the American industry. After testing positive, he has retired from acting and has pursued directing.

The first person to test positive for HIV from result of working with James was Canadian Lara Roxx; real name unknown. Lara was infected due to performing in a scene for the movie “Split That Booty 2” with both James and co-actor Marc Anthony, who also tested positive for HIV. According to Roxx, she believes that she was manipulated into performing the scene and sought the possibility of pursuing legal action; which was a failed effort. She currently owns the Lara Roxx Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to HIV and Aids awareness. A request for comment was attempted, which was unsuccessful.

Another person involved was Meriesa Arroyo, the Hispanic star of over one hundred films. Although a limited amount of information is available, it is known that she entered the industry in the year 2000. She was known during the epidemic to have scorned the founder of the health agency who was coordinating the effort, Dr. Sharon Mitchell of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation; for both inaccurate testing and breach of privacy.

The most important issue from the aftermath of the 2004 scare is that HIV is very real and very deadly. After James returned from Brazil, he was given a PCR/DNA HIV test that was a negative result. The error was that although PCR is an accurate testing system, it may still require several weeks, although the average time is one week for a positive result. This is the weakness that led to the downfall of the adult industry, if only for a short period of time. In that one week, forty-three people from the first and second generation of suspects were put through mental trauma and anguish with the possibility that their lives might be permanently destroyed; due to the fact that HIV testing is not without its' flaws.

Then there is the reality of the fact that people are not always honest. This epidemic did not include anything past the second generation or those that the infected people or their second and third generation did not report to. I firmly believe that an estimated five hundred people were potentially at risk within a single week of one positive HIV infection. Darren James could have prevented HIV infection among himself and those he infected if we had regulation and condom requirements in the pornography industry. The price of safety and personal health has no price to those who value it, regardless of their personal and professional choices. Every person has the right to life, there are no exceptions to this code of ethics. Unfortunately, there are those who take for granted the very foundation of life and may be exploited for the sake of money and minor impulsive behavior.

Pornography is in the same essence, ethically and morally equal to that of street prostitution. Prostitution involves sex for money; protection is scarce. Although the statistics do not exist, the line of those interviewed have equally admitted to using protection as well as not using protection. Pornography is sex for money with the intention of business and marketing; again, protection is not always established. Statistically, protection is not used because pornography is a business; and in order for a business to succeed, it may be necessary to put ethics aside. This is unacceptable and irresponsible human behavior to endanger the personal welfare of another human being for the sake of business.

The truth is that the sex industry is a high-risk behavior. The concern for sexually transmitted disease is just as important as the risks of the other potential abuses in the industry. Drug addiction, street prostitution, working in sex clubs, and even criminal violence are all common for pornographic actors and actresses. The bearing this on ones' mental health in the sex industry may lead to the development of a psychological disorder, including the possibility of imprisonment and suicide. I firmly believe we can lessen the concerns and conflicts that exists among the sex industry if we impose safety regulations for their protection and welfare.

In parts of Nevada with populations of less then four hundred thousand, the counties are able to make their own laws regarding the operations of prostitution as an industry; as permitted by Chapter 244 of state law. Supporters and opponents can both agree on one point, that an HIV scare has never occurred. This is due to the high regulations and health enforcement. Although specifics vary by county, a mutual agreement is that all workers receive an HIV test monthly and a test for other sexually transmitted diseases bi-weekly. In essence, prostitution is treated in the same way a restaurant would be. They are all required to have licensing and pay taxes; which all can play a positive role in the economy. It is well documented that the health codes such an establishment is forced to comply with has been a success in the efforts to legitimize prostitution as a respected business.

Arguably, it is said to be a lower risk to purchase the services from a sex worker in Nevada as opposed to those from a stranger. People who indulge in drugs and alcohol use are statistically less inhibited and may engage in reckless behavior, including unprotected sex. People may ask their partner if they pose a risk, but lack of honesty and ignorance are causation as to why sexually transmitted disease has widespread to a global epidemic. Disease does not have any boundaries regarding race, gender, age, sex, religion or economic background.

Pornography will not be driven underground by being required to obey law any more than taxes and laws have controlled the manufacturing and sales of alcohol. Industry learns with time to adjust and adapt because their competition is also being forced to comply with the same rules and regulations.

The reasons pornography production companies have the fear that health enforcement will drive pornography underground are both ignorance and selfishness. Past history has shown that applying new law and regulation on something that is in need of such has shown the most resistance from the ones profiting from it. Obviously pornography companies do not want to lose revenue and do not want to change. Many of them even reference the first amendment as a defense, while failing to understand that free speech does not apply when the safety of others is at risk.

And it should not. There should be no law allowing what these people do without being forced to protect the ones who place their lives in jeopardy. I would vote in favor of health requirements including mandatory condom use, longer quarantine periods, inspection prior to filming, and unionizing the sex industry due to the high rate of turnover. Currently, the pornography industry pays their actors in cash with no obligation to royalties or any further compensations. The prostitution industry in Nevada classifies their workers as independent contractors, which has been debated in the state due to the obligations the brothel places on its' workers.

My opinion regarding how to regulate is not an easy one, but it can help to contain an already problematic concept in our society. It is realistically possible and will be appreciated by the lives we can save. The people who publish pornography are all guilty of exploitation, why would we want to just hand them rights that they are not guaranteed? Production companies should not have the right to force their actors to take their lives into their own hands in order to make money. The health system needs to step in and force these people to abide by regulations and ensure protection of others or be shut down and arrested.

While I know that this is neither a means to an end nor an end in of itself, it would certainly be a step in the right direction to both help these people and over time it may improve the reputation of the pornography industry. The very essence of life is priceless, people need protection and their right to life. People are free to choose the way they conduct themselves professionally and deserve a safe life. The sex industry has a moral obligation to protect the welfare of these men and women, there needs to be a legal obligation or more people may die as an end result.

Works Cited:

"Three Actors Tested Positive for HIV - Quarantine List Update." News-Medical.Net. 17 Apr. 2004. HONcode Standard for Health. 24 July 2008 .

"NRS: CHAPTER 244 - COUNTIES: GOVERNMENT." The State of Nevada. Nevada Legislature. 24 July 2008 .

Jardin, Xeni. "Porn Valley's HIV Crisis -- Lara Roxx Interview, Blog Updates." BoingBoing. 18 Apr. 2004. Happy Mutants LLC. 24 July 2008 .

Sowadsky, Rick. "Are Registered Prositutes HIV Free?" The Body. 3 Dec. 1996. Nevada State Health AIDS Program. 24 July 2008 .

Fry's Electronics Class Action Lawsuit

2008-07-14T22:00:00.000-07:00
There's a new lawsuit announced that all employees from 3/02-7/07 can participate in, relating to:

1. Failure to pay overtime;
2. Failure to pay final wages;
3. Waiting time penalties;
4. Failure to provide rest periods;
5. Failure to allow meal periods;
6. Failure to furnish timely and accurate wage statements;
7. Unfair and unlawful business acts and practices.

Quote from the Administrator of FrysForum.com:

"Fry's didn't pay my vacation check in a timely matter and never paid me for my personal and holiday days off. They also failed to furnish timely and accurate wage statements; and unfair and unlawful business acts and practices.
Fry's fired me for creating this website where employees could talk about their work related conditions and grievances. We were trying to bring our work related grievances to the attention of management. Fry's found out I was the owner of the website and decided to hold me countable for the content of the site.
According to Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code (47 USC Â§ 230) site owners or operators can not be held responsible for the content left by members on their site. I did not post or write the things Fry's is accusing me of doing listed on the links below. Fry's firing me was illegal and violates the National Labor Relations Act because 2 or more employees were discussing pay or other work related issues with each other and 2 or more employees are addressing their employer about improving their working conditions or pay.
I have filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board which is part of the United States Goverment. Fry's has not responded to my charge.
I was also denied unemployment benifits because according to the California Unemployment office I was "making disparaging remarks about your employeer" even though it wasn't me making the disparaging remarks but some users on the site. I am appealing this decision and I await my court date with the EDD."

Frys has denied all allegations.

My Two Cents:
I never worked for Frys, but I can sympathize with their employees up to a certain point. Frys is like the Walmart of electronics. The customer service is almost non-existant and unhelpful, the prices are rotten and the crowds are worse. The parking lots are big, unsafe and unpatrolled. None of that pisses me off compared to their "Bag and Receipt Check" practice. I went into a Frys a few weeks ago with a friend of mine and the guy at the door was very intrusive. I was carrying my knapsack and he was insistently asking if I had any electronics. The guy even went so far as to ask me for the serial numbers...It was such a hassle.

But seriously, the only part that really pisses me off is the receipt check. Whenever they ring you up and hand you your receipt, they claim that you are required to show them that receipt and let them look in your bag on your way out..These morons are easy to spot because they all have a highlighter in their hand and a nice shit-eating grin to boot.
Long story short: You don't have to show them any receipt, and if you google around you'll see report after report of businesss like best buy illegally detaining their customers for refusing to show the receipt. Personally, I've never seen a report accusing Frys of doing this, but you are within your civil rights to refuse letting them look at your receipt and inside your shopping bag. The simplest reason is because it's your purchase, the receipt is your property and you have the right to retain all said property at all times.
The reason places like Frys do this is to make the rest of the employees pick up the slack that Security isn't doing, either due to not hiring enough surveillance or cutting expenses on security cameras. Whatever the reason, they don't have the right to accuse their legitimate customers of doing something wrong, and they certainly don't have the right to inconvenience their customers because a store wants to cut its expenses.
Don't get me wrong, stores are allowed to ask people for their receipt. But if the person refuses, there's nothing they can do unless they have evidence that they were shoplifting...Which is a completely different argument. It's a waste of time, sure, because any shoplifter will know this and know that they can simply ignore the receipt checkers without batting an eyelash.
There IS an exception to this rule: Places like Sam's club have this mentioned in their contract that you are required to do this. It's a private store that requires a membership and signing a contract. They require you to sign away certain rights in order to...spend money...does that make sense? Doesn't to me, but whatever.
And the last part that mildly pisses me off is Frys also forces people to give ID in order to use a credit card. That's against the terms of the merchant agreement and the forms to file a complaint are just a simple search away on google. You have the right to say NO to give them your ID and if they refuse sale, you can file. Is it worth it? Not really, I'm sure visa and mastercard get their fair share of these complaints every day, it would be next to impossible to fix them all, right? Right.

And the other side of this entire argument is the fact that the employees have never been helpful to me on any occasion I've asked for it. Srsly, it's like Frys hires people just to wear a cheap suit and smile. And it depends on where you live, but in the one where I used to live, it was overrun by Asian anime fanboys who congregated by the surround sound area in clusters of no less than 12 people.
But then again, this might help it make sense. If this were a math equation, it would look something like "Good Employees + Complaints = Fired" and "Asian Unhelpful Staff + The Benefits Of Being Useless = No Complaints = Happy Management"
So it's possible that the legitimate employees were just so tired of dealing with it that they up and left.

I don't know what the real story is behind this lawsuit or how it started, but I hope that more people become aware of what to expect when shopping at Frys. So that's about it, see ya.

Credit also due to The Consumerist for the original referrence.

Hallelujah, 600 Starbucks' To Close!

2008-07-01T20:08:00.000-07:00
Looks like people are finally starting to wake up amidst the pointless gas debate and are finally tired of using a drive-thru to pay $5.00 for a cup of bland, tasteless, burnt monkey-shit in a cup.

So, it's a step in the right direction. But unfortunately, 600 stores is less than 10%, and with a 10% loss still means 90% profit and 90% reason to stay in business and 10% less need to pay employees. And some people are reported there being 200+ within a 5 mile radius, mainly in places like NYC. It's insane! Are people really this starving that they need a starbucks within a simple u-turn's distance into oncoming traffic or they'll just shrivel up and dehydrate? And what about all those reports we see and hear about the dangers of drinking more caffeine than our bodies' can handle?

Obviously with the gas thing being a bit of a hot debate, people have decided to cut back on throwing money at Starbucks, so says some stupid survey that seemed legit. Do I believe it? I don't know and I really don't care, either. I don't drive and my bicycle was stolen a while back, so this doesn't really affect me either way.

Most of the trolling over on Consumerist is stemming from "The employees ultimately suffer" and "Starbucks has become family-oriented" arguments. I actually hate starbucks, I avoid the place because I just don't like them. Their coffee tastes bad, the store smells like somebody burned a cat with a blowtorch, the wireless internet isn't free, the line to order is always confusing and there's always someone either in front or behind me yammering away on his Bluetooth, arguing about what suit to wear or what intern he swapped with his wife last night. Assholes.

Keep in mind that every Starbucks' interior design was intended to have you stay there for as long as possible and spend money. They didn't design it because they wanted to be nice or because they felt a sense of originality. Someone told them and designed it for them, everything from the musak playing all the way up to the chair in the corner the homeless guy is sleeping in. If you thought Walgreens and CVS were annoying, you're gonna need their medications by the time you leave a Starbucks because your headache will be begging for it.

The best way I took it out on Starbucks was simple: I gave my business back to Mcdonalds. I gotta admit, Mcd's makes a really kick-ass cup of coffee. And they did it because they were sick of Starbucks trying to change the world with its filth. So I obliged and now we're friends again.

Here's looking to a brighter future! Suck that coffee down and blow it out your ass you cheap dotcommer yuppy shitheads!

Expand Your Mind! Buy The "Hot Chicks With Douchebags" Book!

2008-06-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

This came out a while ago and slipped my mind to give him a free plug. Jay Lewis rocks, buy his book and support his cough medicine addiction!

Amazon.com Link

Hot Chicks With Douchebags

In Local News..Business Ends Up In Serious Trouble Over Bathroom Dispute, Violates State Laws.

2008-06-25T14:35:00.000-07:00
Retail Store 'Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory' in Huntington Beach, California is public outcast #1 in the news over a situation involving a parent and their daughter. Read on..

"I explained she had diarrhea and couldn't hold it and told them she was about to go on the floor. They refused again and never offered me any alternatives. I begged them to have a heart and that she was 5 but by that time she had lost it all over herself and me. I ran with her in my arms to the movie theater that let me use their bathroom. I cleaned her up, threw out some of her clothes and went back to the Chocolate Factory - asking for names and number of management. I again pleaded with them to use their heart in situations like this."

Quote from Consumerist: 'As it turns out, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory may have violated existing California Code provisions. An organization called the American Restroom Association has a Uniform Plumbing Code that requires a "toilet facility for customers, patrons, and visitors of all mercantile and business establishments." The Uniform Plumbing Code has been adopted by California, so it seems that there IS a requirement for businesses to provide restroom facilities for customers.

From the OC Register: "A story about the incident, posted on the consumerist.com Website, sparked a backlash that has led to death threats, said the store's owner, Bonnie Overturf, who was not there during the incident last Thursday. Overturf said her employees were following insurance policies for her store, and there were at least a dozen restrooms near the store the mother could have used. The posting on the site said the mother, daughter and friends were eating outside at the Bella Terra Mall when the girl began crying and screaming "diarrhea, diarrhea." The mother ran into the chocolate store and asked to use the restroom but was refused multiple times without being offered alternatives, she wrote. "My daughter was humiliated, forced to defecate on herself due to the lack of compassion exhibited by the store," she wrote. The mother took the girl to a restroom at a movie theater around the corner where she cleaned her up and threw out some of her clothes.

The owner of the store had the usual excuse: "Overturf said that it could be dangerous for customers to walk through their hallway, which is lined with supplies, to their back bathroom. At another Rocky Mountain store Overturf owns in Westminster, a man had snuck into the back in 2006 posing a fire extinguisher inspector, she said. Nothing was stolen from the store, she said. "Even if insurance wasn't an issue, there is the possibility of theft and people getting hurt," Overturf, a mother of three, said Wednesday.

"Overturf said her employees were following insurance policies for her store, and there were at least a dozen restrooms near the store the mother could have used."

Alex Chasick, an editor with consumerist.com, said he did not talk with Overturf or Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory officials before posting the story on Monday. The story has had more than 116,000 views and 330 comments, he said.

The contact info for the place of business can be found here. I urge a permanent BOYCOTT and the handing out of flyers to customers in the interest of the free speech and a public right to know whom they are supporting. Stockteam.com

Reference Links and Credits:
Consumerist Article, Part 1
Consumerist Article, Part 2
OC Register

Rest In Peace, George Carlin

2008-06-23T18:06:00.000-07:00
George Carlin has passed away Sunday night at the age of 71 as a result of Heart Failure. And life will not be the same anymore for us who loved and respected him. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him live and I regret it. We're truly sad to see him leave, and he was the only comedian who made a difference in my life. He was the person who stressed the importance of free speech and freedom of press. Life is gonna be pretty bland without him around, that's for damn sure.

Anti-Porn Groups Are Manipulative, Ain't They?

2008-06-22T21:27:00.000-07:00
Yeah I know, I haven't updated in forever and I show up with this...Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Nah, but seriously: I was on another one of my bored escapades, looking at arguments and I thought, "Hey, aren't there groups who are against porn?" Well, a cold fact of life is that for every vice, there's someone out there who just wants to kick the living shit out whoever indulges in it. (So much for free choice...) But in this case, google was not very friendly. There really aren't very many anti-pornography groups out there, not as many as the midwest bible belters would like, anyway.

Anyways, over Here you can find all sorts of mindless statistics and assumptions that these group of nobodies made up.

Keep in mind: I'm remaining completely neutral on my opinions of pornography. Sorta. I took a shitload of debate and english classes, so I was looking for examples that contradict the Toulmin Method and the one invented by that Socrates fellow. So let's find some random quotes on that site I just threw mud at...Let's start from the beginning, see if you can pick up on bullshit just as fast as most people can.

"Addiction can be defined as an ever-increasing dependence on a substance."

("Can be defined"? Well is it or isn't it? I've heard of addiction to speed and hard liquor, which are actual substances. But porn? Nah, that's something intangible..Sorry)

"Actually, pornography produces more powerful drugs than anything you can get from the doctor or the street vendor"

(If that's the case, then why are people still getting DUI's and ended up in prison over meth? Are they telling us that drug addicts would be more satisfied jerking off than shooting junk into their armpits?)

"When we become sexually aroused, our bodies begin producing the most powerful drugs ever known. Endorphins work like heroine, soothing and relaxing us. Adrenalin works like crack, preparing us to fend off competition for the attentions of our mate.">

(Srsly though, if getting horny led to a bigger crash then doing heroin, every woman would be a nun and mankind wouldn't survive. It's funny how people compare getting a case of blue balls to snorting black tar. Next?)

How Do I know If I'm Addicted? Where do we draw the line between viewing pictures and addiction? Many people say an action isn't addiction unless it interferes with your life. Though this is technically correct, it leaves too much room for interpretation...or denial. Answer the following questions honestly to yourself:

Am I doing more of this than I was a year ago?

(I don't keep records of how many times I fap a week, I can start if you would like and then compare it to 2009. I'll even send them a daily log if they're interested. Technically, this gives me another two sin-free years before we can conclude if I'm addicted or not.)

Is more than 50% of my computer Spam about pornography?

(Sure, blame the victim for all the unsolicited bulk email we recieve. I suppose this would make us all guilty!)

Do I use pornography to enhance or spark sexual interest in my partner?

(I'm single, but I have been known to have sexual interests with bic pens and brillo pads. Rest assured, pornography had nothing to do with it.)

Do I prefer Pornography to normal sexual relations?

(It's obvious that they didn't provide a definition for "Normal" since according to them, being sexually aroused is more dangerous then the needle and spoon.)

Have I tried to quit and failed?

(Quit what, being normal?)

"I want you to know there is someone who can help, who loves you and wants only the best for you. That someone is God. If you want help from God, just click on Help Me God."

(I realllllly don't mean to be blasphemous, and I know I'll be apologizing later for this, but in the paragraph just above this quote is another tie-in of drugs to pornography and stressing the word "Addiction". This honestly isn't god's department since he gave every man Free Will. It's in the bible, and most devoutly religious people leave this part out and throw in excuses when challenged. If you want further proof, attend an AA meeting with this in mind. A lot of people lean on the idea that god can fix every problem, every thought disorder and everyone's alcoholism. He can't, deal with it and take responsibility!)

So let's get realistic here for a minute: Porn is everywhere. On billboards. In music lyrics. On your magazine stand at the supermarket. And of course it shows up in your junk mail. Nevermind dickheads like Jack Thompson, and no one cares about money-hungry televangelists anymore. We're all just as annoyed as seeing someone protesting as opposed to seeing the actual thing in question, especially when it comes to porn, admit it.
Why do I say porn is everywhere? Well, porn doesn't have an exact definition, but I think status quo will agree that porn is anything intended to entice arousal and stimulate the senses. That doesn't mean two guys have to be DP'ing a girl with the soundtrack to some stupid movie playing in the background, but that's what Advertisement is for: To entice! Entice you to buy a product, sure! But how do they accomplish that? By picturing someone good looking, right? Right.
Here's another question: What do you think porn is? Just two people fucking? Well that could be pretty broadly defined, since people in R-Rated movies are known for doing just that. It doesn't have to really show penetration either, since we've given that another term: "Hardcore Pornography". R and NC17 movies are well known for showing their fair share of that, Yet people still agree that R and NC17 doesn't qualify as porn. Confusing you yet? Don't sweat it.

Anyways, there's two more articles on that site which are just as worthless. I could spend all fucking day and night slamming these nitwits, but why bother? I guess the message I'm trying to leave you with is always look at both sides of the argument. Keep in mind that manipulation is an incredibly strong factor in persuasion too, and always make sure people back their shit up with evidence, not just a bunch of words that anyone else can come up with, deal?

2nd Interview With "RePete" Aka "Junkyard Willie"!

2008-03-31T14:03:00.000-07:00
Back in August RePete from the TTT was nice enough to give an interview. I recently contacted him, and with the bribery of endless bottles of Malt Liquor and enough Bacon Bits to last him through the summer, he agreed to a second one!

1. So, what's the latest news?

"It's (The movie: "Lost in Transit") a "Cult/B-movie/Indie" kind of thing called "The Junkyard Willie Movie: Lost In Transit". I play "Jim Bob". I am shooting to release it on DVD at the end of Summer. If at that time Sirius still hasn't physically merged with XM and it looks like it's just a few weeks or months away then I'll wait for Howard to reach all of those extra XM listeners. That's a huge opportunity to reach all of those additional XM listeners. The FCC better approve it soon!"

2. In your past calls, you refer to people as having a "Gatorade Brain". Did the company actually let you do that? I thought Jack Daniels were strange to let you use their name occasionally, but Gatorade is another story =P

"An intellectual property lawyer told me that it was OK to leave "Gatorade Brain" in there. He also told me that I would need to either bleep out or get permission regarding the mention of a bunch of other products heard on Appetite for DisRuption. Penzoil said "no" so I had to edit a call and now it's "LubraLoil". There were some other companies that I contacted and they all said "no" to mention of various breath mint products. Jack Daniels was the only company that allowed me to use their name in there on one call, although they wouldn't let me mention Jack Daniels in my Airplane Hubcaps call. I didn't even bother getting permission to say "My old lady sitin' on her ass eatin' Tweenkies". I knew that would be a no. So now it's '...on her ass eatin' _____eez'"

3. Were your phone bills astronomical, or did you have some 'help' from other people?

"Recording 'Appetite for DisRuption' was expensive because it takes a LOT of out bound calls to get 1 good call. No help. I paid all my bills!"

4. How did you get your voice to sound like Jimbob and Blade? Stu and Tic-Tac don't even sound artificial either, do tell!

"I used the "Pitch Shift C" patch on a Yamaha SPX-90 signal processor for Blade, Stu, Willie, Clarence and Tic Tac. It takes a LOT of processing power to do pitch transposition. Those little $100 voice changers are like toys. Don't use one of those!"

5. Have you had any more offers from Stern or Comedy Central since the last time we chatted?

"Crank Yankers made a return to MTV2 and they licensed some calls of mine. I think that show has run it's course. Stern waits for me to release CD's. I'm actually gonna put a couple of new calls on the TTT movie DVD under "special features". So that should guarantee some attention."

6. Got any funny/crazy stories about when you called the people back to tell them they were a victim of a hoax? Have any of the women asked you out or the guys damn near drove there to tear your head off? I know the 'Asbestos Chef' lady was a good sport (She sounded cute!) and I think you almost gave the 'Blade needs to rake in cash' guy a heart attack from laughing so hard. I was so hoping that Willie was going to score with that girl from his 'Admissions Director' joke.

"Once they find out that it was all a joke they laugh about it, tell their friends, etc. On a couple of my "Scooter" calls to auto repair shops there were guys who were still pissed off. Never could get them to sign releases. Actually I took a call the other day and this woman, who said she was like 53, really seemed to take a liking to "Willie" until "Willie" started to say 'Lemme discribulate what I look like. I wear green plaid polyester slacks, a white tank top, suspenders, I gots a big ole' afro, I got gold fillings and a prosthetic eye". That kinda ended that potential romantic encounter!"

7. I asked last time, but I was interested in more details. What was the whole story with UPS? So far all I still know is they sent you some vague pissed-off letter telling you to knock it off, then that was the end of it.

"My lawyer said they just wanted to make sure that I was no longer taking any of those "shipping company" calls or whatever you want to call them. When they sent me that letter I had long laid those calls to rest, and was working on new calls like the auto insurance calls, admissions department, cosmetic company, office supply calls, etc. While they were at it they took the opportunity to try and get me to deliver all of my inventory of CD's to them for "destruction". My attorney told me that they had no legal grounds to stop the sale of my CD's. Most big companies routinely send out cease and desist letters, flexing their muscles to try and protect their trademark. Usually they will make exaggerated arguments that would never hold up in court, but sometimes people get scared off. A cease and desist letter is merely an argument and often times they are 'dummy arguments'"

8. A while ago, you had encouraged independent record labels as opposed to a major. What is your opinion about the nine inch nails and radiohead pricing systems?

"I think you're referring to my pages that I have posted regarding prank phone calls and comedians who are trying to sell CD's. Actually I discourage comedians from signing with both independent record labels and major record labels. Back in the year 1998 I believe it was better for a comedian to try and sign with a distributor (not a record company). Now I believe it is better to not sign with anyone (distributor or record company). Just sell your stuff online via
ccnow.com or cdbaby, amazon.com, and downloads (via TuneCore or CatapultDistribution). The Internet continues to grow and 50% of teen don't even buy CD's now. As far as BANDS go it's a different story. I'd avoid indie labels and sign with a major if you can. Radiohead must have had a few rich people donate a thousand dollars here, a few hundred there."

9. I live near LA and I do an incredibly realistic impression of a speed freak wearing nothing but a plastic shopping bag. Serious, I'm so dedicated to it that the scabs are real and I spend a minimum of seven nights a week living behind the adult book store, reading used copies of Swank and drinking Country Club. Is there any demand in having one for your movie, or should I give up on pursuing an acting career?

"That's funny I play a mind freak wearing a colostomy bag. I've spent weeks living in casting agent's bathrooms. The smells in those bathrooms are so bad I have lost my sense of smell. I too am hoping to make a career out of this."

10. When the people called you then hung up..How was it that they called the same wrong number over and over? If they tried calling UPS and got you, don't you think they would check the number or at least manually dial it in again and get it right?

"I'm not really clear on that. One time someone said that they had called information and were given my phone number. The phone company may actually have entered my 800 number(s) into their computer for various companies."

11. I noticed one thing: When they called and talked to Willie and hung up, called back and talked to "Joe the compassionate one" to lodge their complaint, they usually say different then what Willie originally said. Example: "Save the drama for your momma" turned into "Rumble momma". Comment? Or is this an appropriate question for a psychiatrist?

"And let's not forget how "Jive Turkey" became "Jive Hussy". These calls are a case study is how people twist and change the story around."

Thanks for your time, RePete. Be sure to let everyone know when your movie is available!

Follow-Up: Starbucks Won't Pay, Thinks Laws Don't Apply, World Stops Drinking Coffee

2008-03-28T11:42:00.000-07:00
In top news for what people really care about: Starbucks considers its coffee to be worth more in its weight than gold. They're fighting the $100m lawsuit by seeking an injunction, and have vowed to not discontinue their practice of sharing tips with the employees and managers.

"I want to personally let you know that we would never condone any type of behavior that would lead anyone to conclude that we would take money from our people," he (CEO Howard Schultz) said."

In a separate statement, the company also said, "Contrary to some reports, Starbucks has not taken money from any of its partners, and nor is there money to be refunded or returned from Starbucks." A spokeswoman said Thursday that Starbucks Corp. has no intention of ending the practice of sharing tips among baristas and shift supervisors in California while it seeks an injunction.

Cowett ruled that Starbucks had illegally forced baristas to share tips with shift supervisors, and the judgment could rise to nearly $106 million. The judge found Starbucks violated California law because "agents" of the company, or, in this case, shift supervisors, were sharing tips with baristas. Similar lawsuits were filed this week in Massachusetts and Minnesota, with threats of more suits in other states, including Washington.

"...Earlier this month, Starbucks agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to about 350 assistant managers who claimed in a federal case in Houston that they were forced to work off the clock...Stacey Krum, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said the company is not involved in distributing the tips. That is left up to the employees..."

Lowe (An attorney for the plaintiffs) added that Starbucks is just being defiant, and the company has an attitude that "they are just above the law."

Schultz last Friday also sent a letter to employees saying the company didn't intend to change its tipping policy. Schultz, in his voice mail message, said the company had been "grossly mischaracterized" in the media. He didn't specify any news organizations. "When I read these headlines about Starbucks skimming or stealing from our partners it's just beyond my comprehension how irresponsible it is," Schultz told the employees.

Schultz ended his voice-mail message by saying, "Hopefully we will get through this in a way in which the truth will win out."

(Well, I would think that by defying the judgement and refusing to pay what is owed is not the best way to tell the 'Truth' as the company sees fit, if it wants to be on the customers side.)

SOURCE: SeattlePI.com

Tipping - The Fourth Installment

2008-03-24T10:33:00.000-07:00
Quote from Jezebel:

"I spent many years as a barista, at Starbucks and elsewhere, so I have perhaps a measure more sympathy for their plight than Neil Cavuto, but tipping is the only way I can justify going there. Some days tipping is the only way I know I'm still human. Tipping wherever possible, wherever it is allowed, is your civic fucking duty. Whatever your political stripe, your beef with the way things work in this world-- that hard work is insufficiently valued anymore, that market capitalism unfairly rewards elites and hucksters, that the meritocracy is dead or that welfare dissuades anyone from working or that cynicism has permeated our every action these days -- tipping is your quickest, easiest, most painless mode of dissent."

Anyone see the pattern from what I've been talking about all along? Yep, the only people who bitch about tipping are the ones who've worked in the industry..
I sent them an email, which by no surprise, went ignored.

As if Starbucks Had Enough Problems Already...

2008-03-21T10:48:00.000-07:00
It wasn't enough to go over budget, or to slap a drive-thru on their stores. The fact that they're becoming more common than CVS on every corner didn't make anyone blink. We also didn't care that their Stock was at a loss during last year and wall street gave them the boot, They decided to steal all of the employee tips. But thanks to one person, followed by 100,000 other California employees of this mud-making slop in a cup chain, Starbucks Has Been Forced To Pay $100m in stolen tips to their employees:

"San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett said the coffee-makers - "baristas" - were entitled to $86m in back tips, plus interest.
She issued an injunction banning supervisors from sharing future tips.
She said the practice broke a state law barring managers and supervisors from obtaining a share of employee tips.
A Starbucks spokeswoman, Valerie O'Neil, said the company planned to appeal against the ruling, which she described as "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason".
The lawsuit was filed in October 2004 by Jou Chou, a former Starbucks barista in La Jolla, California.
In 2006 the suit was granted class action status, allowing it to go forward on behalf of as many as 100,000 former and current baristas in the chain's California stores.

Now do you believe me that Starbucks follows unethical business practices?

And remember what I was saying before about Not Tipping? (You knew there was going to be a part 3 eventually, admit it..) This is just furthering the whole argument, in case you feel like an idiot now that you threw a dollar in the tip jar and finally know where it all went. Will any of the Waiter/Waitress trolls stop by to tell me off? Probably not. They don't seem to understand the big picture: I'm against tipping because I'm against the business practice of the employer, not the waiters and waitresses. The waiters are the ones who get fooled into taking a $2.30 an hour job, rest assured I'm on their side. Make sense now? Good.

What's In Your Bottle?

2008-03-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we've all heard the argument and complaints about how Americans are sick of paying more than $3.00 for a gallon of gasoline. But what if I told you that there was something that costs as much as ten times the price of gas that we paid 15 billion for last year, and didn't complain at all? And what if this product we buy is far more damaging to the environment than anything ever imagined?

I'm talking about bottled water. And it's a billion dollar a year industry with a questionable origin dating back to the 1970s. Bottled water is all about marketing and the false illusion that somehow what you're drinking is more pure and clean than the alternative coming out of your tap. But what if I also told you that 25% of the bottled water sold today by the top two companies comes from a municipal supply?

It's true. Dasani and Aquafina have been doing cartwheels through the FDA's labeling requirements because they filter and bottle their water using oil-consuming and fuel-driven processes, while failing to disclose the source of their water. Poland Spring does not have anything to do with Poland, and half of the population of Fiji doesn't even have clean water.

It's both mind-boggling and typical that Americans will drink anything from a bottle with a fancy logo on it that they saw on a commercial. One of the arguments from the industry is that Americans are choosing to spend their money on water. Rather than soda or sports drinks, which are unarguably less healthy then soft drinks. So it kinda plays off as a substitution effect. Where that point goes wrong is the fact that we're already paying for normal, highly-controlled and regulated water. Think of it as the same company who sold you a bad product now sells you a good product at a far more expensive price. This is the concept behind nutrition to big business: They will sell you what is healthy, but at a higher price than the alternative. Think of it as buying an upgrade that isn't really an upgrade at all, but someone told you that it was through means of manipulation. In this case, it would be them saying “We're selling you something that's already free and already clean, but we process it so it's more clean and more healthy!”. Makes no sense, but it was so believable that we threw our wallets up and said “I'll pay anything to stay healthy!” That means they're cornering the market to those who both drink soda and those who drink water. Everyone in the company wins and the customer holds onto that misunderstanding.

What happens to all the bottles that we buy? Well, let's start with the manufacturing process. First, it requires oil to produce those bottles. Next, it requires energy to process and fill those bottles. After that, they have to be trucked and shipped by boat, requiring more energy resources then we need to expend. At the moment, we're transporting 1 billion bottles in this country alone every week. If you had to do the math, it would come out to roughly 40,000 trucks, per week. The weight of water is so overbearing and exceeds the weight limit that the trucks can't be filled all the way. Last time I checked, diesel fuel is still one of those things we need for important purposes.

What's the damage? Almost 30 million empty bottles thrown into landfills every day. That's a lot. So much in fact, that it takes 2 million tons of plastic per year to produce those bottles using an enormous amount of plastic. Unfortunately, the rate for recycling is less then 25%. I'm not an eco-freak and I'm the last person who cares about global warming. But come on, this is resources that are unnecessary and we already have, courtesy of our county water department.

Back to Dasani and Aquafina. Those two brands are owned by Pepsi and Coke, which isn't a surprise considering that the soda market has been declining. They jumped on board and sold us what we already have, with a twist. The good and bad news is that water still only sells half of what soda's income is, but they only spend roughly 15% on marketing for water, as opposed to what they spend on water. So the profit is greater in the end.

Here's what they do: They start with perfectly clean tap water from a municipal source, use something called reverse-osmosis, which is commonly used to turn water from the ocean into drinking water, imagine the energy wasted on that. Then bottle it, put a label on it featuring an illustration of a mountain, make a huge hype on tv and sponsor a few health charities, then off it goes. It's completely useless, and we're all being played for fools. The bad part is sponsoring health events costs a fraction of what it would cost to advertise in a magazine or at a national sports event. There was a door open, and they took it.

But, the other reason people buy it is for convenience and the bottle itself. Sometimes when we're off being busy and just can't find anything else, we settle for bottled water and don't give it more than a second though. If you go running, you want a cold bottle of water and you forgot to bring something from home. If you're at work, well you get the idea.

And it's far from cheap too. It impacts us all in ways we won't see until it's too late. Here's a way to put it so that anyone can understand. If you paid the same for bottled water in a store as you did for your water at home, you would be paying nearly $10,000.00 a month. Just for life's most essential and abundant resource.

What about the difference in safety for bottled versus tap water? Here's the part that might make you think: There is a minimal amount of safety and quality inspection for bottled water. Lab tests over the years have found traces of lead, mercury, even arsenic. City water on the other hand, is under heavy scrutiny and the test results are public by law. You can go onto your city website and track down a copy of the latest report. If you can't find it, call up your water company and ask them for it. You spend all day on that cell phone, why not make use of it and talk about something besides the sports game or that girl sitting across from you with the really nice sweater and loves eating ice cream cones?

Ah, and the taste of bottled water. It really has to be much better for you than something you would find at a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, right? A few years ago, Penn and Teller did a show on this very subject and hired a few people to debunk this illusion. What they did was hire a few people and a waiter to help out. The waiter put on such a performance of falsely explaining where the water came from and just pulled off what has to be the greatest moment in the history of television. It strikes a resemblance to the marketing teams of water companies. If you put it in terms that normal people don't understand, it gains the illusion that it's unique and different. But check this out: The waiter was behind the restaurant with a nasty old garden hose, filling up old buckets with city water and throwing it into homemade bottles. Would the marks know the difference? Absolutely not, which didn't surprise me. They all bought it hook, line and sinker. Some of the water he pitched was selling it at anywhere from 3 dollars to 10 dollars a bottle. He changed the price by how much hype he gave it, the same thing that bottled water marketing will also do. It was a great episode, the waiter did another debunking much later on and it was just as good as the first. I highly recommend it.

In case you wanted further proof that the hoax about bottled water tasting better is true, the owner of Perrier did a taste test live on a radio show. It caught him off guard and he couldn't back down. It took him five guesses to finally get it right. And that man was the first person to start this whole bottled water craze back in the mid-70s. He's a millionaire and can't even identify what his company produces.

There's a very simple break-down of the types of bottled water. It all follows a formula and marketing knows what they can and can't say and what they have to say:

Drinking water and Purified water are tap water. They simply renamed it, revamped it with a new name and gave it a groovy label. In other words, polished a turd and stuck a tie on it. Dasani and Aquafina are classified as purified water due to the processing. Why do they process it? So they can market it as being safer and actually have a defense when somebody challenges them. It also enables them to not be required to disclose the source, due to a loophole in label requirement law. Drinking water is just another pseudonym for bottled water. You can take a dirty old thermos that you pulled out of the attic and put some tap water into it, you'll end up with the same category.

Mineral water is just that, water with useless natural minerals. You can get more nutrition from just taking a vitamin in the morning and eating a salad once a week. The fact that it's useless is that Americans are not lacking in minerals. It's the same scam that brands like “Vitamin Water” and “Life Water” picked up on, only they added flavor to it. Technically, those two brands are classified as a soft drink by the FDA, due to the sugar and calorie content.

Sparkling water and Carbonated water are essentially the same thing. They're both like buying a Pepsi and getting no actual Pepsi, only the water. And unfortunately, carbonated water is high in sodium.

In conclusion, I'd like for you and everyone else to become aware that just because you're buying something doesn't always make it a bargain. Someone is doing it because there exists a market, a niche, and a level of vulnerability for ignorant people with both money and a desire for health. It's pure exploitation, nothing more. And it's such a problem that imported water comes from countries where its citizens are unable to have access to clean water. Why bother drinking something that contributes to pollution, wasted resources, and supporting the fact that you're being lied to? Instead of spending that money on a bottle of water, pick up a sports bottle and a Brita filter. You'll do your part in helping the environment, save money, and feel a sense of achievement that you saw through someone else's get rich quick scheme.

Here's a question: What's "Evian" spelled backwards?

Seven Deadly Sins, Updated!

2008-03-11T14:40:00.000-07:00
Ok, so the Catholic Church decided to put on Winnie the Pooh costumes and get their hand in the bees nest. Again. The problem is these "Sins" are pretty vague, let's go over them one at a time. Don't send me hate mail, I'm not against the idea of organized religion. In fact, I love that people find spirituality a means for true happiness. I just feel that the terms are too vague and need clarification. Their intentions are in the right place, but the terms given did not pinpoint it.

Environmental pollution

This could mean anything from driving a car, gossiping to your friends on a cellphone, drinking bottled water, using hair spray, flushing the toilet, taking out your trash every week, or calling Al Gore an asshole. Next.

Genetic Manipulation

Meaning what? The current policy doesn't allow for birth control, this wasn't even necessary!

Accumulating Excessive Wealth

Ah, the old "Greed" sin. Polished up and shat out one more time. They need to define "Excessive" a little better, since their definition and mine might be different. It's not their fault if one profession pays more than another. A doctor makes more than a secretary, is this "Excessive Wealth" in comparison to the lower paying job? Absolutely, but why is education and striving to earn a living a sin? I could go on and on for hours about this, but why even try?

Inflicting Poverty

Does this mean if I don't give away all of my "Excessive" income, I'm also inflicting poverty? What about those bums on the street who beg for change and don't give a rat's ass about anything but getting high? Is it "Inflicting Poverty" if I ignore them?

Drug Trafficking and Consumption

Uh oh, Aspirin and Insulin companies are in it for now! I wish they were more specific, some people can not survive without drugs. People need medication for their health all the time!

Morally Debatable Experiments

Keyword: "Moral". Not specific enough, morale is different for every person. What they debate and what I debate may be different, just like what someone from another religion might not debate, the catholic church might debate. This has no definition, Everything is debatable. There is not one universal moral we all agree on, somebody out there will disagree with everything that everyone believes in, on any number of specific ground.

Violation of Fundamental Rights of Human Nature

Whatever, "Fundamental" has about six different definitions. "Human Nature" depends on who you are and where you live and how you were raised and universal practice. For all arguments sake, humans are born with a clean slate.

Starbucks Closes for 3 Hours - People Care Less

2008-02-29T15:16:00.000-08:00
So you might have heard that a few days ago, StarSucks closed up during the day for "Retraining", partially due to the fact that their stock is down by more than 50% and feel that shaking the water might be a good attention-getter. Who were the ones who made a big deal? Right, Starbucks! I didn't know about it because I don't go there anyway, I discussed this before.

I have a better idea. If they Really cared about their business and not getting someone to notice them, why not just have them come in for an hour after closing each night for three nights. Last I heard, most companies close up at night then open again in the morning, what's the big deal?

Honestly: After an hour, a portion of people tend to have lower attention spans, you think someone who does nothing but serve coffee is going to want to sit through a retraining session when they already know what to do? Much less for three hours? When's the last time you wanted to hear the same thing over and over again for three hours in a meeting? Have you ever retaken a class and noticed how stupid it was?

Oh and there's this: Starbucks Stops Selling Sandwiches after only a few months, no one knows or cares why.

"Tiny Details" Company - We've All Read This Before..Sort Of.

2008-02-29T14:26:00.000-08:00
Yadda Yadda...Work-At-Home company doesn't know how to make a real website and seems to think that by threatening the people it bilked will somehow make them legit...This has a twist to it that I was waiting to read about for some time. I didn't know people still fell for those, but here's a rundown:

1. Work-From-Home Company charges 55 dollars for a starter kit.
2. People assemble everything then send it back and receive compensation for it.
3. Company refuses to pay because the assembly sucks.
4. People complain.
5. Owner of company discovers Google and a thing called customer complaints, opens dictionary and reads the term for "Blog", has his own ideas.
6. Sends threats with the grammar skills of a chimpanzee, claiming "Libel and Inacurate" (sic)
7. Complaint receivers ask what phrases he is referring to.
8. Owner sends back another email, again with bad spelling, swears to take the person to court.
9. Complaint receiver cares less and gets on with their life, after posting the emails online and letting everyone get a good laugh out of it.
10. 'Business' continues their 'business' of running a website that looks like it was made back when the internet started.

If I were the company, I'd just hire a staff and pay them legally to work for an hourly wage. The problem with that is China does this same thing, but their overhead is far less. Most of that stuff turns up in thrift stores eventually.
Here's all you will need to read from Kristopher Buchan to know what "Tiny Details" he's leaving out if you decide that you aren't happy (Credits at the end)

...I am writing about the substantively incorrect postings that you have on your website.

I am asking that you remove this point immediately. Your representation of
Tiny Details is inacurate and libelous.

I have forwarded this information to our company attorney, along with your
domain registration information.

Please govern yourself accordingly...

Kristopher Buchan
President
Tiny Details, LLC

...You will be hearing from our attorney.

What you have posted is indeed libel.

I am in the process of seeking your address through your domain registrating (sic) information. You will be hearing from us shortly...

Kristopher Buchan

It's the same scam as "Envelope Stuffer", but instead of asking people to mail in fees for processing then skipping off and ignoring emails, the company is mailing out a box assembly that probably cost 40 cents at one of those close-out malls. The tactic works for them and they avoid any sort of legal trouble because when the people mail it back, the company claims they owe nothing because the workmanship falls below their expectations. See how it works? Yep, they're evolving. I knew it was just a matter of time before I had to read something like this about the rebirth of the envelope-stuffers. The similarity with this is that the customer cries foul when they've been had, and the company cares less. Only thing they weren't counting on was people complaining online by filing with the BBB and bloggers filling in the rest of the story. Instead of ignoring it like most people of his type would, he fires off threats which make it worse for him. Same shit, different day.

Link to Article: Project Paradox
Link to BBB Complaint: Here
Link to Consumerist article: Here
Link to Bloggasm Article: (Hi Simon!) Here

Part 2 - "Why Should I Tip You? No, Seriously.."

2008-02-24T21:48:00.000-08:00
Yep. I've gotten a lot of hate mail over this and I've been posting rebuttals as comments as opposed to taking the smarter route. What will this lead to? Probably nothing but more problems, naturally.

Here's the original, in case you haven't read it.

Every Single One has gone unresponded to after my initial reply. You'll notice that they all take the same tone of hostility and offer little to no actual reason or valid argument. My original replies are the comments page, I don't think posting them will substantiate a thing. The key here is to look at the pattern of argument.

"Coming from a server, I just want to let you know that you do sound like a huge asshole. A lot of us are trying to pay our way through school, and you are stating that if you don't tip you are teaching me and my employer a great lesson. Somehow I should just be happy getting 2 dollars an hour. Well, if the rules changed and tipping wasn't practiced, undoubtedly your cheeseburger will go from 8.50 or so to probably 10-12 bucks. So in the end you'll have to pay more anyway. Also, in the end, no server really cares why you tip, they just want a tip. You are right, you paid for the burger, but tipping is paying for the service. If you have a problem with that, why don't you just go back to kitchen and pick up the food yourself? Don't kid yourself, you are just cheap."

And here we have Jerk #2:

First of all, you probably have never waited on a table in your life. Because if you did, you would know exactly what waiters and waitresses go through. Not only do we have to deal with ignorant people like yourself who think waiting tables are a breeze, but the truth is, it takes a patient, energetic, and intelligent person to cater to the public and their specific food and drink needs. Also, people seem to look down on servers, and treat them as if they were a lower class of people. C'mon, man, you are cheap! If you really don't want to pay for a "GRATUITY" as you say ,why don't you go to the store, buy your product, and go home, and cook yourself a nice meal. Oh, and another thing- as a server, I get taxed on the sales that I do for an evening. So, if I sell 1,000 dollars in food and alcohol, I must claim a minimum of 90 dollars in tips on my paycheck, along with getting taxed on my paycheck. My checks are chump change. As I see it, you should wait tables just one day- if you could handle the stress, and then judge the serving industry.

(Starting to notice yet? I don't want to clutter this article with what I wrote. It's still up there, so let's move on.)

"I'm glad that we don't have assholes like you coming into my restaurant. I work in a restaurant because I'm still in school. Can you think of a non-restaurant job you can get with no degree, flexible hours, and enough money to provide for nursing school (including textbooks)? If you can, PLEASE let me, and all of the other servers in the world, know so that we can better ourselves?"

(No, I'm glad that I don't have assholes like YOU waiting for a handout at the end of the meal that costed a premium..)

Anyway, this story does get better, obviously I didn't just dig up an old topic if I didn't have something to add, right?

That's right, I have supporting evidence! Look at this receipt, Courtesy of CGG, and tell me what's wrong. Yeah, I know it's from two years ago. Bear with me:

And no, it's not the fact that a slice of cheese and a piece of lemon costed $1.08. That better be some tasty chili for $3.99, I hope you didn't pull it out of a can. I want to see the recipe and the fresh beans, damnit! They added on a 15% mandatory tip!! Do you see what I fucking mean now? The business even said that it was a "Law" to force people to pay 15% to pick up an order! Apparently, their wait-staff is so lousy that they have to force their customers to pay for their fuck-ups!

Wait wait, it gets better.
From the same restaurant, In the year 2008, Courtesy of The Consumerist is this:

That's Pretty Low. They're forcing people to tip for Take-Out Orders.
I'm speechless, but I'm sure I'll get a few of my fellow waiters to come voice their support of the business anyway.

And last but not least is this quote, also from The Consumerist:

"I'm all for tipping good service, and I feel sorry for waitstaff who get stiffed. But why not just pay your servers more than $2.13 per hour to start with, and incorporate the wage increase into the price of food?"

Looks like someone agrees with me finally, it's a shift from the usual Food-Service Trolls who show up here to call me an asshole every week. Not that I mind.

CREDIT DUE TO:
TheConsumerist.com

Consumerist Again For using a quotation

Coconut Grove Grapevine Thanks!

Last Note: Any comments on this or the first article about this subject that are just plain stupid will not be approved anymore, unless they establish a valid argument with credibility and supporting evidence. I won't even read past the first sentence. I've already been sent several, which means I don't need them at all. If you want to defend the fact that your boss doesn't pay you honestly, go do it on your own site.

Target Stores - Suspected Guilty of Deception Over Converse Products Line

2008-02-19T20:37:00.000-08:00
The plan was fairly simple: Shop for a pair of shoes. I learned that recently Target had partnered a deal with Converse to sell their shoes and clothing line.
So I looked online for the shoes I was after. Price was $29.99 for a nice pair. Cool, I went to my local Target after class and sure enough, the price was $29.99.
All smiles, I looked for my size and they had one pair, but they weren't up to par. There was dirt and lint all over them and the side was marked a bit.

So the customer service told me that they had two other stores in the area that each had one pair. I went over to one of the others and yep, they had 'em. Problem though:

Price was $39.99

Hmm. Bait and Switch perhaps? Maybe it's just the old "I don't know how to price anything, so here's what I'll charge" deal instead? Well, don't make assumptions just yet, let's go ask for help. After looking for someone working there for about ten minutes, I ended up in the toy section and she was glad to assist me.

It was fair to say I kept my cool and patience for longer than most people who respect both Target and Converse, but I think I spent a grand total of an hour in the store and left with nothing but a headache and sour taste in my mouth. It actually got pretty messy after I got my notebook out and started asking for names, there's no easier way to get people to walk away then by asking for information. I just learned that today and I'm disappointed that I had to learn it from Target, of all places. One of the employees named Carlos refused to give his last name and was extremely nervous and rude, he wouldn't even tell me the store number. But for some reason known only to himself, he decided to stick around and see how the rest of the story played out.
Anyway, after going through five employees, a manager named Michael finally came to sort this out. This was his official stance:

1. They don't price match from another store.
2. They don't price match from online sales prices, even from Target.com.
3. The price at the first Target I went to was an "Error" (Translation: 'False Advertisement') This is what I was told after I rode several miles from the one I was at.
4. I said that what he was doing was Bait and Switch and he said "Call it what you want".

I didn't have a camera, and I don't intend to return to any Target store again. Wouldn't matter now anyway, if you want proof, look online then go to a store and see the $10.00 difference. I don't agree that it should cost more to go to a store and buy it rather buying it online, but I'm probably going to met with divided opinions on that one. Which might explain why online sales are high and more favorable than the alternative.

About a month ago, Target and Converse partnered a deal, and I can see that it's very mismanaged, so much in fact that it's almost non-existent. There was only one pair of 90% of all styles for each size. The organization was sloppy too, I had to look for quite some time to find my size, despite it being a single-rack display on the outer edge of the shoe section. Yeah, they put it closest to the aisle for some reason.

*I'm in full support, but not urging, of a Boycott of all Target Stores due to their mismanagement and direct bait and switch tactic and refusal to honor price match. And I say that with disappointment. Normally Target has been the #1 store on my list for many years. They tried to stomp all over Converse, which quite frankly pisses me off. Converse has been around a lot longer than Target and for good reason.
*I would urge Converse to discontinue all partnership deals with Target due to deceptive and mismanaged business practice. They picked the wrong company to trust, and it only upsets Converse's reputation in the end. Target can care less, obviously.
*I fully support an investigation on the stores who were guilty by Converse and question the manager who sent me out the door a dissatisfied customer, who still has
no new pair of shoes, but also will never shop at any Target store again.
*I also support a reprimand of the employees who treated me as if I was against them. I'm not, guys. I just wanted what I expected of Target.
*I would urge Target to realize that internet sales commerce is at an all-time high and to honor internet prices, especially ones from their own website. Who ever said that online prices didn't matter?

Converse is not to blame for this. This is Target's error for mismanaged pricing, refusal to honor online/related store sales and rude employees.

I have sent this letter to The Consumerist and have asked them (Nicely!) to look at it. I doubt that it would have any positive results by contacting Target. I've already done all I plan to do for them ever again. Maybe someone will pick this up and talk to Converse.

What Target has done has fell below my expectations as a customer. I don't know what else to say, but I never expected Target to represent the business practices I witnessed. Especially the rudeness. They were on my good side through thick and thin, I even considered working there last holiday season. I'm sorry they decided to go this route and place customer loyalty on a low level.

This might interest you too: I did some searching around, and according to THIS site published Feb. 8th, Shoes are priced between $30-$35 each.

Oh, My Valentine's Day was JUST FUCKING DANDY

2008-02-15T17:29:00.000-08:00
I hate most holidays because it always makes me realize that no one really cares about anyone, especially me.
Ok, last week I went on a date, which never happens with me anymore and I remember why now. We agreed to meet in the city and had no actual plan. Fine by me, right?
Well I showed up at the right time, gave her a call and asked where she was.

"I'm still trying to figure out how to get there"
"How much longer are you planning to be?"
"No Idea..Shouldn't be long"

(Ok, It was almost noon. The streets were busy, it was getting hot and I was impatient. I had no idea where I was at, and this girl is fucking late!)

So I go walking around for about an hour. I call her back.

"Wtf is going on?"
"I'll be there soon.."
"Ok."

Another 20 minutes later she shows up. But there's a problem.

She's Hung Over. Fucking Hell, Another drinker..I did everything I could to make sure I never have to cross paths on a dating level with any of these people again, Including Staying Single, and look what I ended up with.

Nevermind the fact that She was "Large", as the politically correct term goes. Her clothes did more than enough to ensure a turn-off, because she dressed more amusing than Claribel The Clown and more boring than Daria. I don't know how that was possible but she apparently pulled it off. And for some reason she kept calling herself a 'Beaner' (Yeah, because she's Mexican..I don't get it, must be some new fad going around.). She doesn't go to school and she parties all the goddamn time.

Let's back up - A few weeks ago I posted a personals ad on one of those websites. I didn't expect much, but a few people emailed me. Those were easy because they just had a few questions, and we agreed not to pursue anything. Wonderful, I wished them all the best in their search. Don't bother me.
One of my rules was: NO PARTY ANIMALS
I simply don't have time for any of that drama, I really don't. I've been out of that crap for a long time now and that's how I plan to keep it.
When she emailed me, she swore she read the whole thing and was totally interested.
After seeing her stupid one-in-500-million Myspace pages and hearing all about her wonderful, original opinions on bullshit typed out in improperly spelled english that I don't even remember, we decided to meet up.

So anyway, back to the gossip. Here's what happened: She didn't want anything to eat, nothing to drink, didn't want to go anywhere, didn't talk, didn't make eye contact. As far as I know, she might as well have not even have been there. I could've amused myself more with a plastic shopping bag with someone's name scribbled on it.

After a few hours, she has to leave because she has to go to work.
Right, she made the decision to drink it up last night knowing full well that she has a date tomorrow morning and has to work in the afternoon. I definitely did not want that around.

Fast forward a couple of days. The day after I did email her saying I had a good time (I don't know why I did this. I had a horrible time. I wanted to leave. I wanted to excuse myself to use the restroom then jump out of the fucking window...) She eventually emailed me back after I gave her the polite "I don't know if you know, but I don't date alcoholics, being that I used to be one myself. You should have read that in the posting." message.

Her final words of wisdom?

"Lets just be friends then I'am not a perfect person and I try to party every night we only live once I work hard but party harder that just me."

Yep. That's "Just Her" and all the other "Just Me" people who live here and hang out with "Just Themselves". We only live once so why not just piss it all away, right? I hate when people make excuses.

Well that's it. That sums up my wonderful Valentines Day Week. I'm starting to see why the rate of divorce is so high in the country: People like her are ruining Everything)

A Maxi-Pad That You Put On Your Foot? Ah Those Asians, Gotta Love 'Em!

2008-02-02T19:32:00.000-08:00
These Idiots just came on the scam-circuit recently, calling themselves "Kinoki Foot Pads". Same shit, different face.
They promise to cure you of all your health problems by throwing on a Kotex and peeling off black shit in the morning (The same results that you get every month, but this time it goes on your foot, Ladies!)

You Will Also Be Radioactive at No Extra Charge! Act Now! Buy Buy Buy!

According to their site that asks for your credit card on the main page, the following are true:
1. Negative Ions are Good. You are lacking them.
2. Japan sells $18,000,000 worth of the super-radioactive-detox-period-stoppers every month.
3. For the low shipping price of $12.99, they will send you 10 pads absolutely free after you place your first order. (Most women pay roughly $3.00 for a month's supply of regular maxi-pads...)
4. The Clinical Trials they promised on TV to have been a success are "Coming Soon".
5. The Testimonials make for a wonderful optimistic opinion about the average IQ in this country.
6. By using these things, you will remove "Parasites, Heavy Metals, Metabolic Wastes, Mucous and Much More!" (Hey, I like the Heavy Metal songs I've learned over the years, my tapeworms don't eat much, I'm happy with my metabolism, and doesn't mucous live in my nose?
7. They promise to maintain a strict No-Spam policy, but are too dumb to see the irony.

(I mean come on, Foot pads?)

Human Pile of Trash #8,943,345,311,941,583

2008-01-28T22:53:00.000-08:00
OffendedBlogger received and passed onto me a rather humorous and enlightening piece of spam even I haven't gotten yet from a wonderful man in the land down south of New Zealand with a promising and hopeful proposition to ensure everyone is a millionaire by next month. All OB has to do is insert AdSense code onto their site, sit back and wait, then rake in the dough. Sounds easy and a no-brainer, eh? Well..No. But here, check it out:

From: davidtookit@gmail.com (David Coates???)
Subject: OffendedBlogger.com - You have a fan in New Zealand.
To: xxxx@xxxxxx.com

Hi, (Hey, he has manners, how about that? Maybe he did go to school after all.)

"I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now (from the land of New Zealand, you are starting to build a worldwide fan base). Not to pry but I just couldn't help noticing that you don't have any ads. Knowing how hard it is to establish any size of a fan base as a blogger and to have that traffic just go unattended to, seems such a waste.:

(Guess not. He's still in his talk-em-up phase of the scam. Guys even do this in real life too. Yeah, I can see that you obviously know how hard it is, and you must know that this person has such a huge worldwide fanbase because you do lots of demographic research. Actually it's more like boosting ego so they think you're one of the good guys. I didn't read your wonderful professional site but I'm sure I've seen better work by people who write pornography books about catholic nuns getting it on with their priests and using crosses in a foul way. Such a waste, as you put it. Anyway, continue.)

"I can understand that maybe you want to focus on the blogging which is sensible, rather than get caught up in the advertising game to wind up with five cents (or a nickel, I believe) is understandable. Alienating your audience as well with the ads could be understand as well. Topped off with minimum payout checks usually around $50, at a nickel a year ("tincy-wincy" exaggeration of how crap the payout is), it'll take a millennium to get that hard earned check. With all that in mind, not running ads on a "smallish" blog is understandable."

(From what I understand, a nickel a year is worth having fans and getting paid, or is it the opposite, is that what I'm reading and trying to avoid spitting my soda all over the screen? That's probably why OB doesn't do it, if they wanted to they wouldn't need help from a dingo-fister like you. You still haven't made your point, all you've said is that running ads on a big site loses traffic and ads on a small site will take you a 'millenium' to get a hard-earned check. Sounds to me though that your idea of a hard-earned check is getting your dick out of your hand and landing a fucking job that doesn't involve asking strangers for favors.)

"The crunchy hard hitting part of the email. I was wondering instead if I could run my adsense code on your blog and any of the few nickels that are made will be put towards advertising for your blog or a latte (probably more likely a quarter of one, if that). Why would I do this? I am stuck in the never going to reach the minimum check payout amount situation. By running my adsense code on your blog I could reach or get closer to that check. Of course, it would be only fair that whatever was earned through that stream would go back to you. On the other side of life, the non-materialistic side, your blog is bloody funny (to be blunt) and it would be nice in return for amusing so many, to help drive the traffic your site deserves."

(So now you have a completely different tune. First you say it's not worth it, now you're asking this person to let you profit from their work with their permission that you spammed out of the fucking blue. Pound those few nickels up your ass and hope that you can sneak them into hell and buy yourself out of getting raped. Fuck your lattes, polesmoker. You're giving me a headache, I was hoping to tear you a new one but people like you make me vomit, you're not even worth it anymore.)

Thanks, David Coates (Stfu..)

I might edit this later, people like this really drive my patience out the window so much that I usually just glance through it and say what comes to mind first. That's how much I hate these worms. Thanks again to OffendedBlogger for forwarding this.

Huge Surge in Traffic Lately

2008-01-26T10:08:00.000-08:00
Not sure how it happened exactly, except harassing the fine people on Blogcatalog and some place called Humor-Blogs.com might have had something to do with it. Someone said that Blogburst was good too, so I'm on there also.
Before the traffic was around 3 hits a day, now it's more like 30.

Anyway, if you just popped in here: Thanks for coming by. There's quite a bit to read in the archives, all loaded with disclaimers that by reading it you agree to not drive here and stab me with a rusty screwdriver.

If you want to know anything, just email me, I promise I'll respond. I can even tolerate Hate Mail, as long as you don't threaten my pets. Best thing you can do is leave comments though, and I'll exchange links with anyone who wants to.

RiverStyxxx [at] Gmail [dot] com

Happy birthday, Motherfucker

2008-01-24T12:24:00.000-08:00
Things I think about that really have no point (Actually, nothing on this site has made sense yet, except the jumping deer.)

When we get a shopping cart that wobbles or turns on its own, why do we use it instead of getting a new one?

Why does everyone look at their shit before flushing the toilet?

When we smell the milk in the fridge and it's bad, why do we put it back instead of throwing it out?

Some cartoon characters don't wear pants. Doesn't this seem odd?

Isn't the worst thing ever getting caught masturbating?

Why do men like gay women, but hate gay men? Is this some double standard, or did freud already cover this?

Aren't anti-theft devices insulting?

Isn't abortion just really stupid?

Doesn't making eggs in the morning still remind you of drugs?

People are most afraid of heights and bugs, and hate the sound of nails on a chalk board. Whatever happened to the fear of being stupid?

Why isn't the term "Swamp-Ass" used anymore?

Is it just the people I run into, or is everyone out there hooked on crystal meth?

Years ago, we all insulted the fat kid in school (It's ok, admit it). Nowadays, everybody's kid is fat. Something tells me it's karma, am I right?

Even if public transportation were free and there were many benefits, people would still insist on driving and would welcomly endure the headaches and burdens.

Aren't drunk women really annoying?

Doesn't anybody still get married and stay that way for more then two months?
Isn't "Right On" the stupidest phrase? I can understand "Groovy" and "Fab", but "Right On" just has to go.

Whatever happened to Pogs?

Whenever we use the urinal, why do we have to hit the middle of the drain protector at the bottom like it's some sort of target practice?

Isn't racing a train across the tracks the most thrilling thing ever?

Do you see the irony in the word "Nigga" and the fact that black people use it in a friendly way?

Do you ever really think about the gross factor of buttsex, or doesn't it bother you? We are the only species that both fucks dead people, maybe we're the only ones who do that too. Please prove me wrong.

Did you ever wonder who first decided to squeeze a cow's tit and drink what came out of it? Did he have less friends then I do?

Back in the day, a common bigotry was that blacks ate chicken. Go watch a KFC commercial with this in mind.

Driving is interesting. I could turn this into a book if I wanted to and call it "The Speed Limit is 70? Says who?!" or "Learn to Drive, Asshole!" People going slower then you are idiots, people going faster are maniacs. Someone who passes you on a single-lane road is insane. Asian people are great at math and have wonderful, non-threatening smiles, but make lousy drivers. Even my dad agrees that asian people are a danger to our public roads, and he's a complete idiot. Doesn't know doughnuts from assholes, he's so ignorant. Speeding laws are kind of weird too. The main object of driving is to be as close behind someone as possible, especially if you're in a hurry. This implies that either the driver will go faster, or you will be making better time, since the laws of physics mean that driving dangerously close means you are going faster as opposed to driving at a safe distance. You don't see too many people enforcing tailgating laws anymore. Same thing for jaywalking. We all do it. Just a few days ago, I saw a lady jaywalk with a stroller. I didn't think anything
of it, didn't even give it a second thought. People just assume that all drivers are responsible, and we'll all love to believe so. Because without that frame of mind, none of us would be comfortable behind the wheel.
What about those odd signs on the road, what do they mean? Like "Slippery when wet", I think a more appropriate sign would be "Slippery when it's snowing or has ice on the road", which is actually common sense, or so you would think. But "Slippery when wet" is just the same: Common sense. Example: You take a shower, the tub is slippery. Conclusion: Wet = Slippery. People spend about 15 minutes every day or so in the shower, so you would think that people know the dangers of water. So the sign itself is pretty useless...Maybe not, actually. Try to figure out why. Anyway, they usually put them on bridges, never was able to figure out why the bridges are any different then the road, they're usually made of the same concrete. I guess the rest of the road has great traction when the rain is coming down and you're driving 85 miles an hour, but when you come to a bridge you're bound to hydroplane and head for certain doom. That's the message: Only care about the road when you come to a bridge, the rest is fine to haul ass on.
What else is annoying? People don't use turn signals. If you're going fast on the road, someone will turn and make you slow down suddenly to avoid rear-ending him and not care less. People with ratty exhaust systems in front of you are gay.
The opinion of other people is that if you are in the fast lane, you need to be going at least 28 miles above the speed limit, or you will be insulted and tailgated by those you are dragging along and making late for work. Because we all know that it's Our fault if you didn't leave the house with a big enough time frame to allow for unfortunate circumstances.

Don't You Just Hate People Who Call And Ask "Who am I calling"?

2008-01-24T12:07:00.000-08:00
I certainly do. Sometimes wherever I am, someone will call and ask who I am and who called him. It could even be at a payphone, someone wondering who the hell wanted to talk to him.
The biggest reason? "Because someone called me from this number". Ok, but for all you know it could be a wrong number or a telemarketer.
So he called and asked where he this was to. I said "Well, who are you looking for?" and he gave that reason. Just another dumb fuck returning a call and not knowing who's on the other line. Didn't even give his name either. I just explained that it's a business and a fairly public number, if he didn't know who he was looking for then he probably shouldn't have bothered in the first place. I mean, if it's important the person would have called back or left a message in the first place, right?

The other side of this is people who call you and ask who you are. Don't you hate this? I never signed up for a personal interview, and I don't care who you are to ask that. Over a billion people in this country and you think I give a damn who you are, calling and being invasive, feeling you're owed some sort of obligation or an answer? Piss off.

My advice for all you idiots who do this: Get a life. If you want people to call and leave a message, do something important that makes it so they need to do so. And don't assume that because you call back a random number that people are going to play 20 questions with you.
If they didn't leave a message, don't call it back. If it's important, they'll call again or they'll simply leave a message.

Personally, I don't even have a phone. This is one reason why, and it's aggravating that there are people like this who don't know common sense, and who assume that everyone owes everyone an explanation.

Guitar Hero and Drugs have many things in common.

2008-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00
1. They're both expensive and you will do anything to get your paws on them, even sell the family pet.

"Trade ya the first part plus this used guitar for the second"
"Alright man, but we gotta be careful about these trades, someone might see us.."

2. They take all of your time.
3. You lose your friends and get different ones.
4. Said friends are outcasts and will be where they are now in 10 years.
5. You wouldn't do either in public without feeling some degree of embarrassment (At least I wouldn't)

"We dance on arrows all night, hai!"

6. GH and drugs seem to rely on the fad syndrome. Before meth was heroin and crack, then pot and angel dust phases. Before GH was the power glove, ddr, rock-em sock-em robots, that stupid track meet game that would never stay in one place and you couldn't use the carpet because the pads wouldn't work then..You get the idea. The WII is kind of a fad in the same way Taibo and that bitch Suzanne Summers used to be on tv, but thats not important.
7. The guitar hero screen reminds me of what an acid trip would look like (Think 'Tunnels'). And aren't the screens of DDR and GH very similar, the only difference being that one plays loud, fast techno music and the other has radio-killed, washed-up rock music that even your grandparents like?

(Remember this? I sure don't, thank god)

8. If you play GH, you will think your real guitar playing skills will improve. And when you do drugs, you think you can fly.

9. Last but not least, This is who you will be:

..And this is who you will Think you are, a sign of Delusional Behavior:

Any Questions?

Only Two Choices: Run a Business -Or- Make Money?

2008-01-15T18:37:00.000-08:00
I know it's been a while since I've written, but I finally have something to talk about (fucking miracle, eh?) I hope you're all doing good out therein cyber-land, staying in school and staying out of trouble, or whatever it is people do these days.
Oh, plus I have a cyber-troll-friend coming by and trying to leave obscene comments. I approved the "Waiters Suck" comment and I didn't get a response back, as predicted. I'm pleased to read that my site is actually doing what it's intended to do to people just like you. You don't like me? Then go open your own site and post legitimate rhetoric. Actually, I decided to post another one since you took an interest in me. Thanks for the encouragement!
Anywho, I'm doing fair, to say the least. Staying out of drama, safe to say.

What's on my mind is something I've been seeing a pattern of.

The problem is this: When you run a business because you love to run the business, it has a certain..Higher quality, then businesses run for the sheer love of money and product sales. This goes for anything too, you've all heard the old "Mom and Pop shop got rich and now sucks." But the thing you probably don't know is why places that become successful suddenly turn heartless. Honestly, I don't know why Starbucks went from super cool to super vapid. Actually, I do know the Starbucks story in a nutshell, but only when comparing the big picture of other places. They all fall down the same ladder in the end. More predictable then Britney doing something more embarrassing then what she did last week.

Coffee shop opens, everyone loves it, they open more around the city, then the state. They hire marketing moonies to "cater" the shops so everyone feels "comfortable" and "at home". Everything that you see in the Starbucks has been planted into (most!) every other Starbucks. How's that for originality, knowing that everything you're looking at was designed by a team of efficiency experts? Even the dimensions of the restrooms are set to a certain code. Feels great to be taking a shit with that in mind, don't it?

But what people in marketing don't realize is that you really can't sell comfort in the form of a certain color couch with matching wallpaper to boot if the place is noisy and claustrophobic. As of last year, Consumer reports placed Starbucks coffee taste at the bottom. Surprisingly enough, Mcdonalds beat the pants off them with their coffee, (But I hate Mcd's worse then Starbucks. Don't think for one second that I'm giving Mcdonalds a positive comment) Know why? Because coffee is NOT what Mcdonalds is thriving on, they sling soggy hamburgers and tasteless fries (Told ya). See the pattern? When Mcd's started out, they had quality and they paid well. They get big and decide to "cut back", thus the quality goes down. They can do that though, because they have customer loyalty. Quality goes down, along with the price, no one notices and everyone's happy.
That's not the point though. I haven't gotten that far and I doubt I'll ever draw one from this. But what I do know, speaking from personal experience, is that when you run something with words like "Business", "Capital", "Profit" and "Money" in the monthly reviews, it's heading for the dumps and quality becomes secondary to income.
And it doesn't even have to be a big business either. As of recently, a place I do a lot of relations with admitted they "Are just a business", and it shows too. The main interest is that the bills are paid and there's a profit. And there is, so responsibility gets swept under the couch and no one says a word. The reality though is that it's poorly managed, everyone's miserable and in bad health, the place is a dump and certainly not a place I'd take a date out to or introduce any of my friends to.

Have there been any businesses run that stick to their traditions, even after making money? Sure, I'm not going to lump everyone who tries to turn a profit into the same crowd. You know who you are. In-N-Out is a fairly good one (Although I have a quirk with their subliminal religious quotes on the cups), I had one bad incident with them, About 5 years ago. But all they do is serve up burgers and fries, not much room for corruption that burger king and wendy's isn't already sucking off of. Besides, In-N-Out is only popular because they serve up "Healthy" fast food (I guess there's such a thing, damned if I know though). If they went the way of the road, they'd have to find a whole new market and they'd be another stick in the mud, competing for their overweight-friends. And the other burger chains already have them beat to that one, by a long shot.

Coca-Cola is another example of people listening to the wrong ideas. Remember New Coke? Yeah, me either. But the whole "Coca Cola Classic" you see in the stores is not the original formula, sorry for the bad news. Coke broke its last straw with me when I bought a case of it one time and on the bottom of the box it said "Coke is healthy and nutritious and replenishes vital fluids because it contains water!". That's not the First time I heard that, and I don't remember his name who said it, nor do I give a shit. But he is/was one of the guys in the food and beverage industry (Those guys who invest a trillion dollars a year in advertising to sell your kids high sugar snacks and processed meats of questionable location and species origin.) Hasn't anyone just thought of eating a banana or a muffin with orange juice then taking a fucking jog around the block with a bottle of water that You filled at home? And no, Vitamin Water is not good for you either.

Most businesses have two choices: Run a business that you love, or make money. Only the lucky few will ever be able to do both and still be able to sleep at night without regretting why they started doing what they do. If money is your thing then great, throw some billboards up, hire someone to say whatever you think will sell more of your product, and get some goofy commercials out there. Throw out a line and see who bites. Hire a team of surveyors and market-share-predictor-assclowns and see what they can do for you (It didn't help Coke in the end, and Starbucks is seeing a huge drop in sales, last I heard.) It all comes down to loving what you do. Mcdonalds might say "I'm Lovin' It!" but what they're Really loving ain't It.

The latest I've heard is that Starbucks is going to start selling Mcd-esque sandwiches and Mcd's is going to start serving up espresso. I honestly don't get it, but it's their money. I don't go to either one of them, so I don't even get a say.
And if you don't regret the selling out tactics, then more power to you. In the end though: You have to answer to your customers. Will they wise up? I dunno, "Super Size Me"and "Fast Food Nation" didn't really cut into mcd's too much, people are just as fat and irresponsible as they were before those movies came out.

So do I have a point? Of course not. Will I ever make money writing on this silly thing? Probably not, but if I do it won't be because I put up a shitload of annoying banners of a purple monkey asking you for your credit card. Sickening, ain't it?
So Does big business suck? OF COURSE NOT. I'm all in favor of big business, because without it we wouldn't have cars or computers as readily as we do today. It's how you run the show and your business ethics.

Best "Animal Comedy" Video of the Year.

2007-11-20T22:38:00.000-08:00
I saw it and literally did not stop laughing for 20 minutes. Just watch it and you'll see why. It's a cop just minding his own business, driving down a road in the middle of winter...

Deer Dodges Cop Car - Watch more free videos

(Kinda reminds you of this sign, doesn't it?)

(Nah, more like this, with a minor modification..)

Could Public Schooling Become Obsolete?

2007-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:00
One thing I've been noticing for the past several years now is that the Internet gets better at educational information over time. The news sites are plentiful and presented with clear, unfettered opinion and the public has every chance to make their own opinion and comment as they see fit.

The days of buying a newspaper to have every section completely boring and a waste of time, money and environmental resources are over. Even the news on the television is catering to the Internet's attitude, you may not notice this if you haven't been online as much as I have.
But like I said; Facts and visual aide about Science, Philosophy, World History and Art Appreciation are more abundant and popular then ever before in history, and it's getting better. Wikipedia is a volunteer-contributed database of everything under the sun, and then some.
Back in school, it was really boring sitting in class to hear some teacher drone on about shit we don't care about or need to know. On the Internet, everything is fascinating and fun to learn and you can do it without even getting up, putting clothes on and sitting in some stupid class where everyone looks miserable and has a bitchy opinion on everything, while killing time in between drama-fests.
To put it bluntly: School is boring! Or at least it was 10 years ago. I've been to college since then and the only classes I found seriously interesting were the ones that gave you the opportunity to think for yourself and use your right to free expression. Try getting into a Philosophy class with an open mind that the world may be flat after all. Enroll in an ethics class and ponder the ideas about abortion, affirmative action hypocrisy, and how stem cell research may really be the answer we've been looking for. Or not, depending on how you look at it and who you listen to.
There's a lot of other topics out there that require a completely free independent opinion, I don't need to go into them but a lot of it revolves around politics, which is largely becoming a fierce subject, even the younger generation is having its' say. (And you thought young adults didn't care about politics..)

Moving along, I'm just incredibly amazed that the Internet has filled this void of lack of communication and supports the free sharing of ideas and information. 10 years ago, we didn't have much other option then the CNN, MTV News, and the local newspaper for 35 cents per issue. If you wanted to research a topic that didn't relate to the latest hit on the radio, you had to spend all day in a library reading books that avoid key points relevant to the subject, not to mention that they were written 40 years before you picked it up and opened the cover; And that was assuming they even had the resources to begin with. In my day, we had the school library which refused to stock a lot of subjects, maybe because they were deemed controversial (There's a whole list of Banned Books that aren't allowed in public libraries, go look at it, it's actually incredibly silly.) And overall, the resources were very lacking in real reference material.
If you go to a public school or college today, there's a possibility that your teacher will not allow you to use the Internet for research topic source. If that happens, I would encourage you to drop your class, file a complaint and get a refund.

The old argument is that anyone can say anything on the Internet and it may not be true. The response is an obvious reality check: "Books don't have to be real in order to be published, and many books contain outdated information. Many school textbooks contain unproven information and many contain spelling errors and factual misrepresentation. Since that book was written, there may have been several newly discovered facts that enrich us and make for a more interesting subject".

Do you want some proof to back up my last statement? Here you go then: 109,263 Errors Found in Texas Math Textbooks

Some people are just so old fashioned and can't accept the Internet, they refuse to accept it as a whole and only pick and choose what parts of it they want to benefit from. Someone close to me refuses to believe the Internet can be used to find employment and lives to the old standard of showing up at the company when doors open. A doctor I spoke to seems intimidated that there is so much easily accessible medical information on the Internet, it was almost as if reading those annoying books over the last 10 years was somehow a waste of time.

My idea, and bear with me here on this one..Here's the facts that can not be disputed just based on logic and obvious fact:

1. People like the Internet.
2. People have to learn.
3. People like to learn.
4. People like to contribute.
5. The Internet makes everything fun and interesting. (Here's a good example: Look up the wiki article for Vultures..Then go to the library and get a book on vultures and see what's more interesting and easily accessible.)
6. Some teachers hate the Internet because they feel it threatens their credibility since anyone can challenge it more easily. (In case you had a stick-it-to-the-man attitude.)
7. People are lazy and want things easy.

I have the solution to fix all of this and more so everyone is happy and we SAVE A LOT OF MONEY that goes to pay for public schooling (See? There IS a benefit out of all this that even you will appreciate.)

Solution: I can see the day happening where public grade schools and college text schools will become obsolete and unnecessary. Obviously trade schools and hands-on will have to be performed in a class setting, the alternate to that is assigning a local mentor (Kinda like an apprenticeship/intern who signs off saying he trained you properly, not a far-fetched idea is it?)
Everyone will have the option to learn at home by means of online courses with free reference material, such as online encyclopedias and school text books published online. This also has environmental benefits to it, I'm sure you're aware.

Don't have a laptop to give the kids? I'm sure there's a program that would emerge for that too, because guess what? There are laptops for $200, brand new so anyone can own one.

This isn't a completely unrealistic approach. In fact, college courses are available at home, BUT THEY SUCK!!! THEY SUCK FUCKING ASS AND THEY ARE BORING AND STUPID AND WORTHLESS. There are already many, MANY parents who have committed to homeschooling their children. The reason not everyone does is it? Well there's a lot of reasons, but with this idea, you can scratch off the "Resources" reason from the list. They'll have everything they need right in their own hands thanks to the free sharing of ideas on the Internet. And it wont cost a dime more then what you pay for your Internet bill. Well Ok, it has hidden costs but it serves the greatest good for the greatest number of people (That's utilitarianism, the internet explains it really well.)

Another argument against this is that people need to go to school to learn social skills and not end up living like a hermit. Speaking from personal experience, grade school and high school and most of college has almost Zero to do with the real world. The real world is turned by money, the world of school is turned by drama. You combine the two after you finish school and people go unhappy for a very long time. I don't have statistics, but maybe its not my imagination that the world would be a better place is people turned to the world of the online community.

Just ask yourself: How happy were you back in school? How many of you had great lives that would have been worse had you had home-schooling by means of support using shared information on educational sites? You had a couple friends, then what? Yeah, they're all gone aren't they? Forgot about you years ago and you forgot about them and the only thing it taught you is that people will leave you..Real nice social skills, aren't they?

And think about it: Right now, we have almost every work of literature, encyclopedia, and news topic from centuries ago until today..All available online to the public for no cost whatsoever. Maybe, just maybe, we could do a better job at early and secondary education if we took this approach and embraced the ideologies of free exchange of ideas.

I would honestly like to see an end to all mandatory public schooling. I would, I really truly would. There are way too many problems with this whole concept of kicking the kids out of the door all day when they turn a certain age and have to go to kindergarten. Kids need to raised properly by their parents, plain and simple. It's the same way how I feel about day-care. The parents are simply paying someone else to raise their children while they go to work. Excuse me, hello, you made the decision to have children and now you're just going to abandon them for most of the day? What ever happened to "Dad and/or Mom works and alternates the days of responsibility"? Is that some sort of unpopular 1950's nuclear family pipe-dream that went out the window when the 60s came and women decided to burn their bras?

Public schooling is the same way. From the day I started school in kindergarten until I was done, I hated it. I hated it and it made me worse because I just didn't like the concept of being away from home like that and thrown into a class with 30 kids I didn't even know. (Kinda like boy-bands, they all didn't know each other either until they signed the same contract and look how they turned out.)
I say stop making the public education system our babysitters, support home-schooling and use the computer's resources to enrich your family's life. (Yeah i know, my site is known as the "River of Shit", but that's life, you gotta take the bad with the good. In any country that calls itself free, that's the rule.)

Have you been in a public school lately? Those places are fucking dangerous!! If it isn't the bullies and gangs and drug dealers, it's the cafeteria selling you unhealthy, disgusting, processed diabetes-inducing food and sodas that cost a premium. School teaches you to "fit in" with a crowd or get your ass kicked. There's everything from the gangs (separated by different race, naturally..Just like in real life), the stoners, the football jocks, the goths, the rich girls and guys, and the stuck up 'my shit don't stick' girls. "Fit In or Fuck Off", that's their motto. I know there's more crowds since then because I've heard of a few of the sub-genres like "Emo", whatever the fuck that is.
Good luck getting 10 good teachers that you have to race around the halls every hour to get to, fighting crowds, dropping your shit everywhere, and trying to not fall asleep in class. Yeah, really good for social development, it baffles me as to why we don't have any more Einsteins or Edisons.

To sum it up, by doing this we can:
1. Save money to pay for other things.
2. Save time (Your alternative is waking up at 6am to sit in class for 8 hours instead of schooling for half the time and actually living a decent life.)
3. Save environmental resources.
4. Finally get back at those teachers we all hated! (I honestly don't have any that stick out, but some of you might so I thought I'd throw that out.)
5. Learn more important information with a community-contributed support system.
6. It might help the drama problems in the long run, but I'm not a sociology expert.
7. (My favorite) Your choices of classes and topics are more open! Yeah, how many of you feel like suckers that you had to study Spanish when you wanted to take french? And whats up with physical education class, wasn't that totally gay or what?

One more thing: Recently there was a South Park episode that relates to the "Drama" aspect of this concept called "The List". I wont give it away, but It's worth watching. That's one of the episodes that isn't vulgar and actually makes a good point.

You have to remember that our future depends on our current generation that are younger then us. These people we're raising will one day feed us our meals and perform our surgeries and call us once a week..It's probably best that we do a good job. And plus, public schooling is such an old concept from hundreds of years ago. The whole goal of it was to get kids in class to teach em a few things. Well, computers are here and the support is astronomical, I say it's time we move into the next step.

A really funny joke - The Evolution of Math

2007-11-17T16:53:00.000-08:00
I didn't write it, but it's funny..

The Evolution of Teaching Mathematics

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging form my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

TEACHING MATH IN 1950:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

TEACHING MATH IN 1960:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

TEACHING MATH IN 1970:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

TEACHING MATH IN 1980:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

TEACHING MATH IN 1990:
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living?
Extra Credit question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers).

TEACHING MATH IN 2005:
Un hachero vende una carretada de Madera pare $100. ¡El costo de la producción es $80….

Halloween, Meh!

2007-10-31T15:10:00.000-07:00
Another halloween, the time sure does fly doesn't it? But honestly, I think most of us don't even give a damn anymore.
Back in my day, the true spirit of halloween was celebrated the night before on the 30th. We colorfully celebrated "Mischief Night" with a passion.
That usually involved an arsenal of minimum 10 dozen eggs (Some people prepared the week before by letting them sit next to the heater to let them spoil and shook them up to break the yolks.), another 30 dozen rolls of toilet paper, spraypaint for those who had a personal beef with someone (None of us went this far, but people did it anyway) and shaving cream. The shaving cream thing wasn't too popular because it washed off easily; plus it was expensive.

There was also the popular "Pumpkin Smashing" past-time, some people evolved from smashing pumpkins to beating mailboxes to as flat as a pancake. But honestly there was nothing like finding a nice family of pumpkins all carved out with happy faces and a candle inside. Probably took the former owners a whole day with their family to go pick out a few nice ones, pay out the ass, spend the next six hours carving and cleaning it out..Only to meet with an unfortunate fate from the likes of the neighborhood hooligans, running and screaming at all hours of the night for no real reason other then amusement and boredom. Rebellion had nothing to do with it, it was just us being kids and fueled by whatever we could find.

There's a movie called "Cant buy me love" about a kid who pays a girl a grand to say she's going out with him. There's a scene though later on in the movie of the kids taking a bag of shit and throwing it at someones
door. Totally hilarious, if I could find the movie i'd make a clip of it. Google around, im sure someone put it up on youtube for the season. Anyways, they had this big rotten stinky bag of doggy doo and it made such a mess, getting hurled
at the neighbors door.

Back to my time though, there was more then one year we all banded together to wreak havoc on the townsfolk. Keep in mind that I had a cracked out stepmom
that made it her priority of the year to try and make sure we didn't have a good night, but the kids got her back somehow. Yeah, she was crazy, everyone in town hated her and even felt sorry for the fact that I had to live under the same roof as her.

Actually, I remember how they got her back: They didn't do anything that night, the night after (On Halloween), they painted our house with about 5 dozen Grade-A large eggs and the trees were covered in toilet paper worse then King Tut. That display would have made Charmin's stock go up about 3 points. Yeah, our house got hit HARD because of her trying to get in everyone's business and ruin our night. But everyone got hit that season anyway, it was nothing personal. One of the neighbors even had a huge bag of rotten clams or oysters. It smelled god awful I couldn't get near the damn things. It smelled worse then a 60 year old crackwhore's ass. Not sure what he did with them either, they didn't have a splatter effect.

No one was spared and we didn't discriminate. Small businesses spent weeks cleaning the egg and toilet paper, Poor families who invested days of effort into pumpkin carving found that their work was all for nothing, come next morning. And the deserving ones invested in elbow-grease to get the spraypaint off their cars. Cars were a big thing if the opportunity was available, since they're so small and a bitch to clean egg off of (One of the neighbors heard of using Bologna overnight, something about it eating paint. Imagine waking up the next morning to get to work, only to find your windshield smothered in egg and the car wrapped like a mummy in toilet paper, and your car has more polka dots then a clown's ass.)

We never did the soap thing, that was just more "Washes off after the first rain" thing and wasn't very funny to look at or do. The toilet paper washed off too, but it was an experience you shared with your friends and it was just so damn funny. You had to be there with 7 of your friends (Who will also do the same thing to your house the next night when you least expect it) and cover a huge oak tree within minutes, only to move onto the next one. We had spent so much time and money with toilet paper, we had to have 2 people just carry the rolls around in these boxes. Even had to go back to the store once to spend somewhere around 100 dollars on more rolls. If you lived in my town and it was the night after, you'd see nothing but toilet paper and smell eggs.
And like I said, the police never really cared. They were around and most of them had a few laughs, some came talking to us; But all in all, we were pretty safe.

But it takes a lot of teamwork and a pile of cash and dedication if you want to do a good job you can laugh about years later. It was just one of those things we did once a year. Normally, we'd all be in school and rarely had time to talk, much less hang out. But a week before that night, we all had to get together to discuss who's doing what and how much money in the budget we had. I had to save lunch money for a month just to make a decent contribution. We never really had any beer, both due to age problems and money issues. In that town if you wanted beer you had to pay someone a big markup to get what you wanted. Wouldn't have been a good night to have 15 kids drunk off their asses and making a mess instead of doing quality work anyway. If the cops had decided to crack down, we'd all be in more trouble. There's the scatter plan, but with everyone drunk we wouldn't have gotten far. So that idea was put off. Usually we waited the next night to get drunk and go trick-or-treating, since we weren't doing anything wrong and everyone had masks on anyway.

After we moved out of the area, mischief night didn't seem to exist anywhere else. Ask anyone in your town about mischief night and most either heard it was an urban legend or something that just didn't happen
anymore. Very disappointing to wake up Halloween morning and find the trees unscathed and not a rotten egg on anyone's window, and nary a pumpkin on the driveway in smithereens. It's not my tradition anymore since I grew up long ago, but its a shame to see that people dont do that anymore. Maybe its just in small towns too, who knows.

Nowadays, people treat halloween like every other holiday. There's money to be made, people still go to work on that day, and less and less people are supportive of trick-or-treating. Turn on your radio and you'll find the braindead DJ making a cliche joke that isn't funny in the slightest. Even my dad caught the bug, he went to work wearing a pumpkin t-shirt that just screams out for help. I know the pumpkin had a happy smiling face, but I knew what he was really thinking. Whatever happened to that small town tradition of halloween? Did everyone decide that halloween is the devils holiday or what? Kinda reminds me of christmas, most people who celebrate christmas don't even go to church.

I'll break it down to you:
1. Halloween is about costumes and candy. The bible-thumpers do the exact opposite, even though they don't know that halloween has nothing to do with religion.
2. Christmas is about getting presents (Im hoping Santa brings me one of those new xbox's! Even though he didn't give me shit last year.) But you have to be on good terms with everyone for at least the last two months to really be able to cash in on it. Avoid listening to the radio and watching tv for the month if you don't like seeing christmas-related things over and over.
3. Easter is about biting the heads off chocolate bunnies and painting eggs. The religious significance is secondary, as with christmas.
4. New years is about getting drunk and making unrealistic promises to not fuck up next year, which are usually broken within days. Some people are desperate to find a girl/guy to spend the night with because they can't do it any other time of the year without an excuse.
5. Thanksgiving is about eating turkey with your family who never talks to each other, but they're all please and thank you when you host the party. Someone gets drunk off the wine and falls down the stairs, everyone argues and they all leave full yet miserable. Not a good holiday. The next day is even worse because of Black Friday, everyone runs to the stores at 5am to save 10 dollars on something they didn't really want in the first place.
6. Valentines day is about cupids poking people with arrows, giving a dozen dead roses bought from the gas station that also sells malt liquor to your fuck buddy, and feeling some sort of obligation just to have sex. Any other time of the year they spend their time fighting over paying the bills and can't sit down at the table for dinner without arguing about who's cheating on who. But this day is 'special', by having sex this day we all support the tradition.
7. Columbus day is about a slave owner who sailed the wrong way, bumped into america and claimed discovery, while overthrowing the indians at the same time. (And I base this statement off of absolutely no research.)
8. Birthdays: My favorite. People usually only acknowledge them if you bought them something for their birthday or if you've been super-nice to them all year (Eh, that ain't worth it..), which is more of obligation as opposed to good faith and something called "kindness", a word which is no longer in any dictionary. Seriously, go buy a dictionary made after 2000 and try to look it up. If you want to give someone a gift, just do it because you want to and fuck the return favor obligation.

The writers behind the "National Lampoon Vacation" series had a good idea going and were more realistic then most people. The christmas vacation one had uncle eddie showing up to dump his toilet into the sewer and gramma giving the cat to the griswolds as a present, the european vacation was about rude french people and the fact that no one can get along for a few weeks (But they all fought to win the vacation..As a family..funny eh?), and the first Vacation movie had them getting robbed by rednecks and the nice black folks in mississippi, only to find the park closed. Why did chevy chase stop doing those movies, he was the perfect guy for the part. Everyone hates him too! Everyone I talk to has nothing good to say about that guy and he's so unfunny and he likes men and this and that.

The holidays that are most popular are the ones that people personally gain from that money can't normally buy any other time of the year, it takes a certain 'holiday spirit' to get people moving. Think about it: Christmas is big for presents due to obligation to buy something for someone who bought you something. Or its your wife and you have to. Or your kids wont stop bugging you. There's more then a handful of reasons why christmas is celebrated, the biggest being that it "brings family together", kinda moot since two weeks later they're back to square one and those presents are old news. Valentines day means free sex in exchange for 20 dollar worth of flowers and old chocolates that you ate half of (Or at least justified if you call an escort). New Years means free drinks and companionship. Any dickweed can go to a new years party and find someone drunk enough to put up with them for the night. Easter isn't that popular and neither is Halloween because its just about candy, something anybody can do any time of the year. Another reason those two are and aren't popular is religion. A lot of people don't feel any sort of good spirit to pick up halloween candy to give to trick or treaters (You know who you are and back in the day if you were home and ignored us, you got egged and were branded an outcast.) And some people just handed out stupid shit for halloween gifts. I don't remember what dumb things we were given (Besides the buzz-killing Toothbrushes or Apples or the dreaded Raisins), but the coolest people gave us money. Yeah, some of those neighbors would hand us anywhere from a dollar to ten bucks, we Loved those people and they earned instant respect. Nobody would be allowed to fuck with them from now on. We didn't cheat either by going back again, since the whole "Im not made of money" concept was something even we understood. We were kids and were always up to no good but we had some sense of moral and honesty. Come on, it was a poor town and people gave money, you gotta love em for that.

Back to this halloween thing though. In my day we had the coolest candies. Everything from Zots to BB-Bats, Cry-Baby bubblegum and Bottlecaps, Atomic Fireballs that most of us couldn't tolerate for more then a few minutes at a time, and those Jawbreakers the size of a baseball (Remember those? They took about a week to finish.)
Baby Ruth, Snickers and Twix were cool; 3 Musketeers, Pez, and Gummy-candies got an ass kicking, unless they were Sourpatch Kids. And there were those candies that would ooze out wierd shit, those were great too. Yeah, if you had candy, it better be incredibly sour or hot and it had to have a cool name, or you were instantly discredited. And what was up with those wax lips? You remember those? Blech, you couldn't eat them because they tasted like chomping on a candle, you couldn't put them on your face because they weren't really a good fit. Lollipops are also pretty fucking stupid, unless they're blo-pops. Screw those small whatever you call 'ems, dum-dum pops. I know Peeps are meant for easter (They have them at halloween too), but why do they even make them? They're horrible! The only good thing to do with them is watch them explode in the microwave! Candy corn is the WORST thing to hand out on halloween, and Necco Wafers belong in the garbage.
Bring on the Jolly Ranchers and flush the Black Licorice down the toilet where it belongs. Why they even make black licorice is beyond me, it's Twizzler's pig of a brother that everyone hates, yet enough people buy it so it stays in business.
But the thing that really pisses me off is these Extremely bite-sized candy bars wrapped up in plastic you can't even open! If you hand out candy, give FULL SIZE bars goddamnit.
We also had Peanut Chews, which were good for one thing: Chewing and getting all slobbered up, then sticking em underneath your desk at school. Once they harden it took a jackhammer to get one off. And they looked awful too, lol.
And Tootsie Rolls are just stupid. Please, if you get any this year, just throw them away.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Reese's Pieces were, still are, and will always be the coolest thing ever.
You know those candy hearts that taste like chalk? I know those are valentines day (Which is another holiday I have a bone to pick with..), but they're just so awful and say the stupidest shit. If my significant other got me those, I'd throw them out and sleep on the couch.
Swedish Fish might taste mysteriously good, but goddamn they are annoying as hell. Circus Peanuts aren't very popular anymore, and with good reason too. Bit O' Honey was just too frustrating to fuck with, And these are just odd.
I'd rather go into the basement and dig out my Garbage Pail Kids gum from 1989 then have to eat a Milky Way bar or even sit through one of their stupid commercials. Pixi Stix were and always will be a mystery to me since there's never enough of that powder in any of those paper straws. Kinda like Sweet Tarts, I hated those things!
Peanut M&M's are Dynamite. If you hand out full sized bags of those, you are without a doubt the coolest dude on the block. Honestly, those and Baby Ruth and Pay Day and Reese's are equal in my book.

If you're the religious type, don't hand out anything jesus related, mmk? No one wants to eat a cookie shaped like a cross with "John 3:16" on it, and they don't want a pocket bible either. Dish out the Peanut and Chocolate bars, you'll get your chance at the end of December.

But there is one candy I will NEVER understand: Those orangey/tannish hunks wrapped up in black/orange paper that had a taste I could not describe. WHAT ARE THOSE DAMN THINGS???
And Candy Cigarettes. They looked like chalk (Minus the red dot on the end, wtf?), they tasted like chalk, but they weren't chalk: They were just stupid. And those Mary Jane's?? Pain in the ass! Took me 10 minutes just to eat one of them and I spent the whole time worrying I was going to choke, along with those damn peanut chews.

Ahem. And if you hand out candy, make sure it's not saved from last year and if you have chocolate: Make sure it wasn't sitting in the sun for a day. You might not know this, but chocolate absorbs odor. Keep that in mind.

So that's it for this year. The season gets less jolly every year, seems like the only way to make it fun is by remembering the good old days. Am I getting old or is everyone just getting easier to please? Maybe a little bit of both.

See ya.

Makeup Video for Last Minute People

2007-10-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Weekend News.

2007-10-28T14:24:00.000-07:00
Not that we need it, but USB 3.0 is around the corner, thanks to Intel.

Medical Cannabis Patient Commits Suicide

Do you use Linux? Do you get it from Torrents? Well, Comcast doesn't like that. World of Warcraft updates are also through Torrents. Anyways, I think we're still many years from solving this problem.

The New York Times Supports Open Source!

Britney's Mom is planning to write a parenting book Lets hope it's title is "How not to make the same mistakes!"

Saw IV comes in at 32 million dollars on opening weekend. And I'm very glad I showed support :) "Dan in real life", a typical comedy made by some jerks about gay cowboys eating pudding only made 12M. Steve Carrell was a one-hit-wonder. 32 Million for a horror movie is great on opening weekend.

The console wars back in the 80s. The time sure goes by fast

Rule #1 in the southern states: Don't run off with your plumber's wife, especially if you're rich.

Casino refuses to pay the jackpot to a winner. The #1 rule in gambling that the house can't break. But, this casino is owned and operated by Indians. I didn't know the nickel slots were worth so much, but then again: I don't gamble. First the casino offers 400 bucks, then 2,500 bucks. It's pretty greasy for these wagon burners to lure in customers then refuse to pay out when someone wins, calling it a "System Error".

15 ghost photos, kinda cool. But old news.

I didn't know Bill Cosby was a cool guy.

Parents finally have a reason to raise their kids allowances and always be nice to them, lol.

Im never spending the night at another woman's house.

Pikachu's Vagina.(Safe for Work) Looks more like his navel.

Top 10 Poisonous Plants

AT&T wants the email address for whom not to contact. Riight

Playstation 3 Losses now at 1 Billion

2007-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

This Is what happens when you try to convince people that they need something worth over a half a grand just to play video games and watch movies, completely ignoring the competition.

But Here's the best part: HD DVD players are down to 200 bucks already
That blows the whole argument away of buying a ps3 to play blu-ray. The only limitation to the 200 dollar player is its limited to 1080i, which is fine for the price.

Movie Review - "Saw IV"

2007-10-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

SYNOPSIS:

'Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.'

After much desperation, I finally went to see it! I did see Saw 3 last year when it came out and it was amazing, absolutely gruesome and the deaths were as painful as possible. If you're like me and you love seeing people who have wronged others suffer terrible, terrible fates, then this fourth installment won't disappoint!
You will have to see the third one before seeing the fourth. And naturally i'm assuming you've seen the second and first. I believe in leaving out ALL spoilers and plot, so I won't be saying much related to it.
I haven't been to a movie theater in about a year. There just wasn't anything worth seeing, honestly. A couple came close, but there was always that need for More Blood then last time. But last week I heard about Saw 4, didn't see any previews or get any plot descriptions. I was a late bloomer to the showing, the die-hards all went opening night, I did what I could to get there but no luck.
But this movie was amazingly brutal and graphic like you've never witnessed. Just when you thought the third one was the most extreme, the creators took it a notch up and gave us what we wanted! Sick, abhorant graphic and wanton deaths in the most inhumane and unheard of forms. If you see this movie you may end up reserving your seat in hell for good!
If you're the kind of person who believes in do unto others, you might be more tolerant to understand the message behind this movie then someone who only sees a movie for the violence and not the meaning.

I give this movie 5 out of 5 and a well deserved applause! Twisted Pictures have done a great job and I look forward to their next work in another year. I heartily condone seeing this movie, its the best 2 hours you'll have this year if you're anything like me. This movie is a MUST SEE on the big screen theater.

Happy Halloween and a wonderful New Years, Twisted/Lions Gate. You've earned it.

Go see it, go now! Today's Sunday, skip out of church and get your ass down to the movie screens for this goddamn film! You only live once so make it a good one!

People and their Stupid Pets

2007-10-28T12:13:00.001-07:00
You know whats really stupid? People who talk to their pets like they're people. They seriously think that they understand the english language and know what you're saying. Sure, their only responses are by barking, meowing and peeing on the carpet, but why are these owners so into conversations with their pets? And they give them stupid names too like "Muffin", "Mr Biggles" and on and on. I don't know where i'm going with this one, but its just ridiculous. My opinion is these people just don't have friends or a life or anyone they can call. They actually ask their pets questions and expect some kind of an answer. I think television and annoying children's cartoons have ruined us by giving us the illusion that our pets can actually understand anything past "Sit" and "Roll Over". You know what's really cool is pets that can talk back. Parrots for example. You teach them to say words, but parrots don't actually know the meaning of the word, they just talk back what we teach them. Kinda like people who go to grade school, college, church and whatever other ideas their parents' put in their heads.
What's more annoying is the way we treat our animals, there's a huge billion dollar industry catered to making our pets happy by buying them these stupid sweaters for their dogs combined with the reindeer antlers at christmas. Im sure if our pets had something to say, they would have some very choice words and even attempt to sue their owners for degrading them to make them feel like shit. If I was a cat and my owner was having a get-together with friends, and my owner talked to me like that, i'd probably leave and hitchhike to another state.
Go into petco or petsmart or any of these other dime-a-dozen pet stores and you can find anything from the very best tasting "Fish Oil and Sauteed Horse Meat" food at roughly $150.00 a pound, all the way up to a huge gymnasium for your cat that never gets up except to take a shit or eat. And those things are huge too! One of those things I saw wouldn't even fit into most people's apartments comfortably. It's like trying to avoid an elephant in the room, its big and loud and the temptation to sell his tusks to ivory traders goes stronger every day.

But the worst thing that people turn a blind eye to is the slave trade of animals. Yeah, I said slave trade. Im sure you're wondering "Wait a second, after all the bashing he actually compares animals to slaves?". I sure do, but in a different way. I'll explain:
Anyone can walk into a pet store and buy an animal, like a dog or a cat or a rabbit. The chances are damn near 100% that the animal came from a puppy mill and were raised improperly by the owner and the mother. Does this have an impact on you? Sure does, those animals usually turn out confused and lack discipline and a lot of them are born with a disease in their bones. The way the pet stores generate business is by putting the cute ones in the front window so passers-by get lured into the store on the chance that they'll make some sort of a connection. But, if you've even seen Love Connection or Blind Date, you'll know that this is an illusion to generate sales and is completely unrealistic. Yeah, they all want that "Special moment" of making eye contact with the poor helpless puppy just staring up at them, but the reality is the owner set it up to pull heartstrings and make a buck. Go in there and ask the shop owner where the animals came from, who raised it and for their medical records and he'll probably change languages to one he thinks you won't understand. Boy these people get me steamed, but the market is huge and people fall for it all the time, its the oldest trick in the book to sell animals.
I might not agree with PETA on anything at all except this practice. It's just exploitation and more smoke and mirrors then you can shake a stick at. You know what the warranty is on these animals? Well if they get sick, bring 'em back. We'll either fix it up or give you a new one. If the animal dies on you, we'll give you a new one. Doesn't matter to them, its a matter of profit and the best way to make a dollar. If you bring back a sick animal and it costs more to them to fix then to kill, then, well you get the idea.
Just take my advice and boycott these businesses. Don't buy their damaged goods, dont pay the employee's minimum wage, and don't even shop there. That's it, the answer is to hit where it hurts and don't shop there. The chances are that these shop owners are only paying roughly 5% of what they sell them to you for. Say that cute cuddly long-haired dog with the lovable black eyes costs you 500 dollars. Chances are that same dog was trucked in by the cartload from somewhere that will always remain a mystery and sold for roughly 30 bucks to the shop. If the shop even pays up front for it, but probably not.
Yeah, shop owners and mill breeders probably have some sort of insurance policy that if the dog gets too old or expensive to keep around, the shop stands to lose money. The only way out of that is to either send it back or kill it.
I just don't see how legitmate shopping centers like Malls can tolerate this sort of practice. Have you been to one of those shady pet stores in the mall lately? I haven't, the last time I even stepped foot in a mall was several months ago, but I did observe the pet stores. These pets look horrible, they're unkempt and depressed and starving, and meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blow is taking their kids to point and laugh and awe the puppies that they don't give a second thought to the fact that what's going on may constitute exploitation.
The pet store I visited mostly just sold these battered puppies and cats. The other things they carried were pet accessories that you don't need and no less then 3 employees all sitting around looking bored, looking to sell that next dog.
So how does this all compare to slavery? Well, the concept of slavery is to achieve means to an end, justification wasn't of any importance. In the case of african slaves, they were made to serve a purpose of making someone else rich and happy by means of buying and selling and trading. In the case of animals being bred, their purpose is to make money for the owner and have an expectation to make the buyer happy and live up to its purpose. How many times have people owned animals who turned out to make them miserable and they got rid of them? Exactly. Animals are expected to make people happy. The concept of buying a dog through the front window is an impulse thought of "Its incredibly cute, it will make us happy." And that's how the store makes money. When it fails to live up to expectations, they either end up homeless or in an animal shelter. I've heard plenty of stories about someone buying their kid a rabbit and get bored with it within weeks and it ends up improperly cared for because they learned the lesson that animals are more then just cute and happy and lovable. There's a lot of responsibility that goes with them. Especially rabbits, they're more complicated then raising a kid. They even go the next step because if a rabbit gets scared, it will literally have a heart attack and die.
There really is no such thing as a free meal, it can take months or years to make a legitimate relationship with your animal. Simply calling him annoying names and spending your paycheck on gadgets they won't be interested has nothing to do with the real concept of raising an animal. You can tell when your pet is depressed because they don't do anything. If it's scared you'll know, if it's conflicted you'll know, etc. etc.

The message? Think when you consider an animal. Avoid pet stores that sell animals, boycott and urge your friends to do so too. Either adopt from a shelter or buy from a legitimate breeder. An animal is not an animal no matter where you get it from. I'm both for and against the idea of having something that's damaged goods. I wouldn't buy from a pet store because it's supporting the racket of this awful trade. It has very little to do with the animal itself. I don't care if the animal is 5 dollars or 500 dollars, the answer is no and I'm dead-set against pet stores who are supplied by mill breeders.
At the same time, education is key. I've personally been intolerant to people who buy their animals in a pet store, only after explaining my side they play the ignorant card and go on the defense and that's it. Doesn't explain why I don't have friends and haven't been on a date in over a year. Thats for another day. Anywho. Yeah, if you get a pet don't talk to it like you're embarassing it with stupid names like "MooMoo" or "Shmoopy Doopy" (Seinfeld joke). They don't care if you spend more on them then you do on yourself, and they sure as hell love their freedom. So if you live in a good area where they won't get kidnapped by koreans, let 'em out damnit! Just take 'em to the vet twice a year, make sure their noses are cold and clean the litter box. If you see that commercial on tv about the people fighting over who gets to clean the litter box with that stupid jingle, call your cable company and let 'em hear it. If enough people complain, they'll cancel those kind of commercials.

Clean up after your dog? How about clean up your agenda about where you live instead.

2007-10-28T12:13:00.000-07:00
If you live in an area where you're required to clean up after your dog shit, move. Please. Just Move. It's disgusting, ok? You're living in an area that isn't meant for animals, for god's sake. I can't fathom the idea without having my stomach turn about a big dog taking a nice hot warm steaming shit at 8 in the morning and you have to clean it up with a plastic bag and carry it around. I would be so humiliated. But its the things that people do for their animals! It was made into a rule about cleaning up your dog shit because there's too many dogs and they're a nuisance. That doesn't help the noise issue either. I've been woken up time after time by dogs barking at sunrise for no reason other then to hear themselves. Is there any rules about noise complaints? Not that I know of, no. One of the neighbors even has it in her mind that it's ok to let her scary-looking dog run around free whenever she decides it's a good idea. Coincedently, she actually looks decent which means Airheaded in my book. So yeah, if you live in an area where you have to clean up after your dog and carry the bag around, just save yourself some dignity and respect and move. Dog shit is the most disgusting kind of shit out there too, we've all stepped in it and nearly threw up over the smell more then once. And you're out there carrying it around in a plastic bag! It knows no limits either, I've seen really hot looking women carrying dog shit around. Blech, I bet she doesn't mention that when she's out at the club with her girlfriends. "Uhm hey can you get me a drink?" "Sure Tanya. say how's your pitbull doing?" "Oh he's doing fine. Yesterday he dropped about 5 pounds of shit on the ground and I had to pick it up in a bag and walk around with it" "Ohhh, well that sucks. Listen, I just remembered that I have to go home early, I'll see you in a few weeks though!"
The worst part about this dog shit rule is a lot of people don't follow it because the penalities are a joke. The fine is somewhere between 50 and 100 dollars, which is nothing to these people (Keep in mind, money is irrelevant in terms of pet care to some people). So they just ignore the rule and make sure no one's watching. It isnt just here either, its an old comedy bit that people living in suberbia walk their dogs to the next door neighbors to go take a dump. Reverand Lovejoy even does it to Flanders.
But if I had a dog who was known for making legendary dumps that even the flies wont go near, I would just move. Having a pet is one thing, but that's just where I cross the line. You really have to look at the big picture that where you're raising your animal just isn't the best place. Move out to somewhere less dense - both in population and Intelligence, mind you.

RiveR StyX

The Orange County Serial Killer - A Commentary

Gamestop is a complete scam, end of story

Trolling A Dating Site

It's Official: Two Years Free From Smoking!!

AMTA - Front For Prostitution

Yelp deleted a review, so I'll just post it here instead =)

A Short History - XBOX 360 Homebrew Development *To Be Updated*

Beware of EASYNEWS: Possible Phishers Working For The Company

Fry's Electronics List of Approved Online Match Game Competitors And Policies

Editorial: 2011 Bottled Water EWG Results

Warning: Quitting smoking may result in loss of ECTO-PLASM!

Guide To Blank DVD Media - "What Should I Use"

Rapture? Great, wake me up when it comes.

This Ugg-Boot-Company-Thing Has Been Around For Longer Than You Think

From the "Slightly Disturbing But Not Surprised" Department

The 90's In Review: Lords Of Acid

AT&T Gonna Hate On Us :(

1980's Department Stores On The East Coast

Brief Review: "I Spit On Your Grave"

How I Quit Smoking - And So Can You.

Vuvuzelas - Monty Python Style

Rabies Alert! Well, sort of..

Claims of "Disease/Drug Free" Are 5% Honest

The Association For Retarded Citizens

New Medical Marijuana Policy Issued

Just An Update!

Ooh, rejected by the six-month old "Newport-Mesa Daily Voice"

Computer-Voiced Crank Calls!

Ask The Community - Why People Sag Their Pants Down To Their Ankles.

1 In 5 Will Be A Victim Of Sexual Assault

Psycho

AT&T Blocking 4Chan.org!!

Change of Plans!

Philosophy.com - Just More Mindless Consumption

How To Replace Your Cellphone: The Easy, Cheap and Efficient Way!

Oddly Enough!

If You Pay People To Be Poor, You'll Never Run Out Of Poor People.

Things The Internet Have Just Ruined Forever

SMS (Simple Media System) And ULaunchelf Skins for PS2

"Biohazard" Sucks, Hey Fuck You Evan!!

Should Cannabis Be Legal? A Collection of Science-Related And Economically Concerned Links ONLY!

Wacky Conspiracy Theories About Disney Movies

Lesson In Life: Don't Be A Complete Skank

Psychology Behind "Joe Camel"?

Third (Or Fourth, I lost track) Interview With RePete (Aka Junkyard Willie)

Most Dangerous Drugs: By Category

Worst Job: High School Janitor

Order Your Free "Me Not Meth" Shirt!

Fuck You, I think AIDS Is Hilarious!

Funny Story About Car Alarms..

Car Alarms And Cell Phones Are Junk

Shameless Plug: Photo Site

Classic Complaints: SMC

The Roadmap Says "Down", And That's Where They Are. Right Down In The Dumps.

Most Productive (And Best Looking) Women Of 2008

Pornography Needs Regulation - An Argument

Fry's Electronics Class Action Lawsuit

Hallelujah, 600 Starbucks' To Close!

Expand Your Mind! Buy The "Hot Chicks With Douchebags" Book!

In Local News..Business Ends Up In Serious Trouble Over Bathroom Dispute, Violates State Laws.

Rest In Peace, George Carlin

Anti-Porn Groups Are Manipulative, Ain't They?

2nd Interview With "RePete" Aka "Junkyard Willie"!

Follow-Up: Starbucks Won't Pay, Thinks Laws Don't Apply, World Stops Drinking Coffee

Tipping - The Fourth Installment

As if Starbucks Had Enough Problems Already...

What's In Your Bottle?

Seven Deadly Sins, Updated!

Starbucks Closes for 3 Hours - People Care Less

"Tiny Details" Company - We've All Read This Before..Sort Of.

Part 2 - "Why Should I Tip You? No, Seriously.."

Target Stores - Suspected Guilty of Deception Over Converse Products Line

Oh, My Valentine's Day was JUST FUCKING DANDY

A Maxi-Pad That You Put On Your Foot? Ah Those Asians, Gotta Love 'Em!

Human Pile of Trash #8,943,345,311,941,583

Huge Surge in Traffic Lately

Happy birthday, Motherfucker

Don't You Just Hate People Who Call And Ask "Who am I calling"?

Guitar Hero and Drugs have many things in common.

A Short History - XBOX 360 Homebrew Development To Be Updated